Taking Charge 2
by Honest Beauty
Summary: deleted the old one because it was an embarrassment. Set at end of SuperS sailor moon and tk are out of action so it's up to chibimoon to lead the final attack on the Dead moon circus. Explores helios' backstory ChibiusaxHelios please read and review thx!
1. Warning Signs

**Bea: ok, here's the deal. I know I have already posted and finished this story, but I was re-reading it, and frankly was ashamed almost to the point of tears (not quite THAT bad but you get my drift).**

**Well, I have read the guidelines so I'll be taking the original 'Taking Charge' off of . You can find it on my account at ****.com/**** . And as I finish re-vamping each chapter I will be uploading the "new and improved" 'Taking Charge' story, ever-so-cleverly named 'Taking Charge 2.0'. -_-' **

**I dedicate this story to my readers and muse, who have one and all kept me going in my stories, inspired me, helped me improve via constructive reviews and advice and by just reading my stories and letting me know what you think of them.**

**You guys rock my socks off and leave me in the dust, sitting on my rump in awe! Luvs ya all and here we go! *takes a deep breath and plunges in recklessly***

Taking Charge 2.0

By: Honest Beauty

Chapter 1: Warning Signs

Mamoru walked out of the school grounds with a very happy Chibiusa skipping ahead of him. _Well she should be, she just won first place in her race._ Mamoru thought fondly and smiled. But the smile vanished as he walked into a white-hot thread of agony that quickly coursed throughout his body and centered in on his heart and lungs.

Mamoru felt like his chest was bound too tightly by a vice and his heart was being wrapped in barbed wire. His breath caught in his throat, preventing him from uttering a sound or he would have screamed in pain. All that emerged from his lips was a strangled moan. Mamoru collapsed to his knees, grabbed his chest, closed his eyes in pain and gasped as soon as he was able to, his face a twisted mask of pain. The whole thing only lasted maybe a second, but felt much longer to the Prince of Earth.

"Mamoru! Are you alright? What happened?" Mamoru forced his eyes to open to see his future daughter look at him with worried eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mamoru replied, not wanting Chibiusa to worry, "I just tripped."

Later the three met up with Usagi and the others at Crown Parlor. Mamoru noticed that even though the skies were clear, it was a little dark outside. Usagi's worried glances at the sky told him he wasn't the only one that noticed it.

However they shrugged the feeling off. Eventually they left, the girls and Chibiusa exiting first, happily chatting about the race while Mamoru and Usagi followed hand in hand. Suddenly both of them stopped, clutched at their hearts and gasped painfully in unison. The other five hurried back asking what was wrong. Mamoru, not wanting to cause a scene, mindsent _:This happened to me earlier around 9:30.:_

_:You too? Yes I can feel your memories, and the same thing happened to me except that it was a tiny bit less painful:_

_:What do you think is happening?:_

_:I don't know, but we should try not to worry the others.:_

_:Right.:_

"Mamoru! Usagi!" Chibiusa said worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, we just tripped, that's all." Usagi said as the two of them painfully stood upright.

"Are you sure Usagi?" Rei asked, "You did this earlier too."

"Same with Mamoru!" Chibiusa exclaimed as all five looked at the couple.

"We'll be fine, don't worry." Mamoru said as they masked their pain and caught up with the group.

"Hey, Usagi-chan, Mamoru-san, what's that on your shirts?" Ami asked abruptly, grabbing a near invisible thread that lay on the couple's chests.

"It looks like a spider thread." Makoto offered as Ami examined it.

"I'm going to analyze it once I get home." Ami said and everyone headed home.

* * *

**Bea: what do you guys think? Good, bad, ugly, boring or a possibility? I would love you forever if you leave me some feedback, esp. from those who have read the original TC.**

**Ja ne!**


	2. Crisis

Chapter 2: Crisis

The Next Morning

"Usagi, look outside!" Chibiusa exclaimed worriedly, jumping onto her 'cousin's' bed.

"Huh?" Usagi asked, slowly rising from her cocoon of blankets, as if she were ill.

"Tokyo is covered in spider webs!" Chibiusa said as Usagi gasped in horror.

"Chibiusa, go get dressed, we're going to go meet the girls," Usagi said urgently, grabbing her communicator.

Later, the six of them met at the Juuban shopping center. As Ami traced the source of the spider webs Usagi covertly placed a hand over her heart. _I feel weak and achy. This started yesterday, but it's much worse today. I know Mamo-chan feels as bad, if not worse._ Usagi thought, feeling her lover's weakness through their soul bond.

* * *

As Usagi and Chibiusa henshined to fight the Amazoness Quartet, Usagi thought, _my henshin is weaker than normal. I hope Chibimoon doesn't notice._

* * *

Moon struggled not to scream as PallaPalla used her doll to tear them limb from limb. Suddenly a rose struck the doll from PallaPalla's hands. Everyone looked up to see Tuxedo Kamen standing on a tent support. Making his usual speech, he leapt down to join the senshi, landing somewhat heavily beside Moon.

"Is everyone all right?" he asked before his knees abruptly buckled on him in brief, but searing pain as Moon, still braced for an attack from the four girls, curled in on herself where she stood, gasping in pain. Both clutched their chests.

_Shit, these attacks are getting more frequent. I can't let the enemy notice._ Tuxedo Kamen thought, hurriedly pushing himself back upright.

_Damn, not again! I feel weaker after each attack, but I can't give in to it now, too much depends on me!_ Sailor Moon thought, straightening her back and shifting her feet to a surer stance.

"Amazoness Quartet." A gravelly female voice, reminiscent of an old crone, rang out. "The greatest event of the millennium is about to begin! Get your flamboyant tails back in here now!"

"It's Zirconia-obaa-chan." VesVes stated looking at the other three.

"We'd better get inside before she starts yelling." CereCere said, getting out her ball.

"PallaPalla wants to see this mysterious event!" the blue hair girl exclaimed copying her pink haired compatriot.

"Race ya!" JunJun shouted, using her ball to teleport away. The other three quickly followed.

"What the heck was that old hag over the loud speakers talking about?" Sailor Mars asked the group in general. Everyone shrugged their shoulders in bewilderment. Overhead, a dark moon started to cover the sun in an eclipse.

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen's legs gave out and they landed on their knees, and sat heavily on their heels. Both doubled over in anguish and clutched their chests, painful groans and pants escaping the two heroes. The senshi gasped as one and rushed to surround their fallen leader and her lover.

"Sailor Moon what's wrong?!" Sailor Mercury's soft voice demanded, her slim fingers busily typing on her minicomputer. Before Sailor Moon could do more than open her mouth, Tuxedo Kamen gritted the answer out between gasps of pain.

"Ever since… those spider… webs started… appearing… my heart… and chest have started… hurting… Moon is… the same… but mine… are a little… bit more… powerful." Sailor Moon nodded in agreement of her lover's explanation. They leaned against each other and held each other for physical and emotional support.

"These webs must be caused by the enemy. So the only way to cure Mamoru-san and Usagi-chan…" Sailor Mercury trailed off, looking grimly at the Dead Moon Circus' main tent.

"Is to defeat this Zirconia or whoever is in charge of this lousy dump." Jupiter growled, cracking her knuckles, a fierce grin forming on her lips.

"Then I say, let's storm the place and deliver some justice a la senshi style!" Venus exclaimed, jumping up from where she had been crouching beside her fallen leader and pointing at the tent like a general leading a cavalry charge.

"Yeah, let's do this, girls!" Jupiter shouted, getting to her booted feet as well and joining Venus' side.

"I'm in." Mars snarled willingly, standing and walking to Venus' other side. Her glare should have lit the fabric of the tent on fire with its intensity.

"They need to pay. I'm scanning for the best way to get in now." Mercury joined the trio, coming to stand beside Jupiter. Together, the four warriors formed a wall between the lovers and the enemy's encampment. Still kneeling beside her future parents, Chibimoon was torn between joining her friends and staying to look after Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon.

_You mustn't, Senshi of Serenity's Inner Court.:_ Everyone but Chibimoon started at the sound of a warm tenor voice speaking in his or her mind. Chibimoon jumped up and looked at the sky, her ruby eyes lighting up with joy.

"Pegasus! Where are you?" she exclaimed scanning the skies above her, ignoring the stares of Tuxedo Kamen and the senshi. There was no verbal response to her query. Instead the magnificent snow white creature appeared in a golden flash in front of the line of senshi.

Chibimoon smiled hugely and ran up to Pegasus, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face briefly in his silky mane. He whickered happily and cupped his wings around her slender, thirteen year old frame.

_:Hello my Maiden.:_ Pegasus mindspoke gently to her 'ears' alone.

"What do you mean, Pegasus-san? Why mustn't we attack the Dead Moon Circus?" Mercury called, laying a calming hand on Jupiter to prevent the tall senshi from showing her opinion of the winged horse's command.

_:You are neither prepared nor strong enough in numbers to take on your enemy.:_ Pegasus stated bluntly, but not unkindly, turning his head to look the blue senshi in the eye.

"What?!" Mars squawked in outrage. "How dare you presume to—"

_:I do not presume. I am merely stating a fact.:_ Pegasus countered evenly. _:Besides, is it not your first and foremost priority to protect your Princess?:_ he continued, preventing the riled senshi from arguing with him.

"Well, yes." Venus answered reluctantly. "But to protect her, we need to lift the curse. And to do that we need to defeat the enemy."

_:First you need to transport them to a safer place than in front of the enemy's stronghold. Her and Prince Endymion both are too weak and vulnerable to defend themselves.:_ Pegasus mindsent, pointing his nose in the direction of said people, who were shakily walking forward after having climbed slowly and painfully to their feet.

"He's right, minna." Chibimoon suddenly piped up, turning to face her friends, an arm still slung around Pegasus' neck, her free hand fisted nervously at her side. After a second, Jupiter exhaled explosively and ran a gloved hand through her ponytail.

"Both of them are right. Let's go to Mamoru-san's apartment and contact the outer senshi."

_:Before you go, I need to give you some much needed and long overdue explanations. I don't have much time so pay close attention.:_ his form flickered briefly and Chibimoon voiced a distressed negation.

Pegasus then briefly explained who he was, what was happening and showed a hologram of the true Moon being covered in spider webs and darkness as well as the Earth. He told them of his capture and his plight to find the person who possesses the Golden Crystal.

The beautiful, horned creature they now knew as the cursed high priest of Elysion, Helios, slowly hung his head in shame. _:But I am out of time, and too weak to stop the Dead Moon's rise. I failed you, my Prince. Forgive me.:_

"No! Helios, don't go! Please don't leave me!" Chibimoon begged, tears springing up in her red eyes and embracing his neck as if she could physically stop him. But Pegasus just shook his majestic head regretfully as his form lost its solidarity and started to flicker and fade. Briefly everyone saw the gleam of grief in his amber orbs and the weariness lining every inch of him before he faded out of existence.

"Helios!" Chibimoon cried out, tears now coursing down her cheeks. But her attention was ripped from her sorrow to the sudden crackling and booming radiating from the black skies above.

Black lightning raced across the clouded skies and struck the ground with alarming frequency. Where the lightning struck, craters were left, from which wickedly barbed vines a meter or more in diameter at their bases erupted to wrap around everything. Simultaneously many more spider webs swamped the Earth, covering everything with webs and darkness. Chibimoon was forcibly reminded of the time Pegasus showed her a vision of when Elysion was invaded.

Looking up she was unsurprised to see smaller floating replicas of the Dead Moon Circus tent floating down from the clouds by the dozens. Her heart dropped into her boots as she called everyone's attention to it. But the senshi only were able to glance up briefly before two strangled screams of agony claimed everyone's attention.

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen collapsed abruptly onto the concrete ground writhing and emitting low moans of anguish. Kamen's top hat and mask fell off, revealing a face contorted in pain that mirrored Moon's. From the way Moon's reaction mirrored Kamen's, everyone rightly assumed that the same type of attack Earth was undergoing was similar to that of the Moon.

"Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen!" Chibimoon shouted, worry lacing her young voice. She hurried to their sides along with the other four senshi. Mercury scanned them quickly with her minicomputer.

"They're in incredible pain, but at this point in the process, their lives are not currently in danger. It's safe enough to move them." The blue haired senshi stated, turning to Venus as the default leader of the senshi. The golden haired senshi nodded decisively.

"Okay. So basically they're not going to die right now, but both are in too much pain to move by themselves correct?" Mercury nodded slipping her computer into her subspace pocket.

"How do you want to do this?" Mars asked watching as Chibimoon helped the lovers get into a semblance of a sitting position. The two heroes had either become used to the higher level of pain or just had their reaction to it under better control, for both kept their vocalizations to a minimum though their faces were white and pinched with pain.

"We'll split into twos and each pair will support one between them. Chibimoon will act as scout and bellhop." Venus reeled off.

"Well, I know I'll be one part of the pair that has Tuxedo Kamen. Who's going to be my partner?" Jupiter asked taking up her position to the right of the formally dressed hero.

"Minako-chan is the most physically able of all after Makoto-chan. Rei-chan and I will escort Usagi-chan." Mercury stated.

"Makes sense. I'm in volleyball after all." Venus commented, mostly to herself as she directed Mars and Mercury to help Moon upright. After the two girls had their odango-ed leader on her feet between them, Jupiter and Venus got to work on Tuxedo Kamen.

Each grabbed one of his upper arms and hauled him up off the ground. Quickly they maneuvered themselves so that one of his arms was slung across each senshi's shoulders and each girl had their outside hand holding Tuxedo Kamen's on her shoulder and her inner arm wrapped around his back.

Their positions were identical to Mars' and Mercury's. Jupiter, growling in annoyance at Kamen's cape, unfastened the cape on her side. Venus quickly copied her and Chibimoon rolled it up and loaded it into her arms along with Kamen's hat and mask.

After a moment's thought, the pink haired senshi shoved all but the mask into her sub-space pocket. She then handed the mask to Jupiter. The brunette needed no prompting. She simply slipped the white object on Tuxedo Kamen's face.

Not a minute later, all seven were a block or so away, leaping rooftops carefully and somewhat slowly. The carriers had modified their grips so that their outside arms interlocked under their passenger's bent knees. Chibimoon, for all her smaller size, was easily keeping her place in the lead, at least at first.

They had to stop at increasing intervals along the way. A few were for the senshi to rest, but the majority of them…

"Why does this keep happening? To me I mean? I'm not even in any pain!" Chibimoon, who had just lost her henshin for half a second before regaining it, asked, scared and confused. She looked to Mercury, who had her computer out while Mars supported Moon, who was mirroring Chibimoon's henshin flickers, along with Tuxedo Kamen.

"One second Chibimoon, the scan is almost finished." Mercury said, mostly to calm the senshi in training down. "Okay, it's done. You are losing your henshin because it connected to Sailor Moon's. You and Moon effectively share a henshin, so just as if one is not there, the other cannot henshin, if one of you de-henshins or forcibly loses it, the other will follow."

"And why are Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen losing their henshins?" Mars asked, casting a worried glance at the blonde hero she was supporting. She was pale, sweating and breathing shallowly when she wasn't hissing or groaning quietly in pain from the seizures.

"Because their main source of power is their planet, or moon in Usagi-chan's case, just like us. The attacks upon the Earth and Moon are draining as well as damaging. And since, being royalty, they are connected deeply to their respective homes, the bond goes both ways. The attacks drain and damage Usagi-chan and Mamoru-kun." Mercury reported, shutting her minicomputer and sliding it back into her sub-space pocket.

"Well, since these flickers are increasing steadily in length and frequency, we need to change how we are going to be carrying everyone. Because there is no way Chibiusa can jump from building to building like Chibimoon does." Jupiter stated. She glanced at Venus, who was biting her lip as she thought.

"Right. Jupiter you're strong enough to carry Sailor Moon by yourself. Mercury, Chibimoon is light enough that you can carry her piggy back style. And Mars you and I will carry Tuxedo Kamen between us." She rattled off and her senshi rapidly obeyed her.

Chibimoon clambered up onto Mercury's back, flickering to Chibiusa and back as the blue senshi stood up from her kneeling position. Jupiter, after a moment's consideration picked Sailor Moon up bridal style as she flickered between personas. Mars and Venus linked their arms behind Tuxedo Kamen's back and under his legs. The rearrangement was completed in under a minute.

They took off again, though more slowly than before. The senshi stuck to the rooftops; all of them, even Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, knew that if they traversed the streets someone would invariably see them and it was rapidly becoming more than a seventy-five percent chance that the three heroes would be caught during one of their involuntary de-henshins.

A grueling ten minutes later, Chibiusa looked over Mercury's blue-clad shoulder to see that Mamoru's apartment complex was the building after the next in front of her. By this time, Chibiusa was spending more time as herself than her hero persona. The 'flickers' now spanned a minute or so in length with maybe a half-minute between them.

Mercury leapt onto Mamoru's balcony, followed closely by Jupiter. Chibimoon slid off Mercury's back as she slid the glass door open. All three quickly filed inside to make room for Mars, Venus and Mamoru. Once that trio was inside, Chibiusa slid the door shut.

Jupiter never stopped, carrying Usagi right into Mamoru's bedroom. At Mamoru's hoarse insistence, Venus and Mars put his legs down so they were only half carrying him. Chibiusa followed them in.

As she crossed the threshold, Chibiusa felt and saw her fuku appear for half a second then as she felt something give out in her mind, her fuku disappeared, leaving her standing as Chibiusa once more. Somehow the future princess knew that she had just lost her henshin completely.

She said as much to the inner senshi as Usagi and Mamoru nodded in agreement from their place on the bed. Venus glanced at Mercury, nodding to the petite warrior in a manner that clearly said for her to take command of the situation.

"We need to conserve our powers, minna. De-henshin." The order was given in a crisp tone that brooked no argument. A short light display later, Minako, Ami, Rei, and Makoto stood where the warriors had been.

Ami sent Minako to fetch pajamas for Usagi and Mamoru, rightly assuming that the blonde girl had at least one pair here in case she ah…_happened_ to stay the night. A brief glance at the laboriously breathing couple on the bed told her that they would never be able to change unaided.

"Minako, set those beside them on the bed. We're going to have to change them. They're in no condition to do it themselves. Two to each so we can expedite the process." Ami announced going to Mamoru's side and kneeling to remove his shoes. Makoto joined him a minute later as Rei and Minako undressed and re-dressed Usagi like a giant doll.

Mamoru was in too much pain to even be mildly embarrassed about being changed by two girls. Ami got over her blushes by slipping into her 'doctor's mode' and Makoto just blushed and tried not to look too much.

Meanwhile Chibiusa had taken upon herself to turn down the bed so the girls could get the lovers into bed more easily; which the girls did by simply dragging their stiffened and hunched forms up the bed and tucking the covers over the heavily sweating and out of breath couple. Mamoru turned feverish midnight blue eyes past Usagi to look at Ami.

"Y-You were right. Helios… confirmed it… in our minds… why this… is happening… to us. Our bodies… are connected… to the Earth… and Moon… respectively… so what… happens to… the Earth… and Moon… happens… to our… bodies." He rasped out between spasms, which were coming at shorter intervals, then gasped in unison with Usagi and clutched at his chest through the blankets as Usagi mimicked him.

"So unless we stop them, the Dead Moon will destroy the Earth and Moon, which will kill both of you. Not to mention me." Chibiusa stated emotionlessly, though her eyes shining brightly with tears she refused to let fall. Tears caused by fear for her two dearest friends and future parents, and fear for her own life. Usagi nodded, having turned her pain glazed sapphire blue eyes to look at the pink haired girl.

"C-Chibiusa, come…over here…please." Usagi whispered hoarsely, gasping from the pain in her chest. It felt as if red hot, spiked curved steel bars were being tightened painfully around her chest and rose thorns crossed with barbed wire were wrapping tightly around her heart. Her own pain was compounded by the pain that flowed into her through her soul-bond to Mamoru, just as she knew hers radiated into him.

She knew that had she not been in so much pain, it would have been very funny to watch herself and her love. They were mimicking each other perfectly, due to the simultaneous seizures that were steadily getting worse and more frequent. She watched as Chibiusa came up and sat on the bed's edge beside her. The pink haired girl then leaned forward so Usagi would not have to speak as loud. Usagi smiled briefly with love for her 'cousin's' thoughtfulness.

"All of us… know I'm… too weak to… be of any… use in the… fight against… Nehelenia." She forced out between spasms of searing pain. "You must… take my place… here…" Usagi slowly raised her arm into the air and drew out her Moon Kaleidoscope from her sub-space pocket. She had meant to hand it to Chibiusa, but she was so weak that the weapon fell from her grip to land on the bed. Chibiusa swiftly grabbed the pink object and slipped into her own sub-space pocket.

"My brooch…" Usagi whispered reaching weakly for it. Rei grabbed it from the pile of clothes near the bed and handed to her princess. Usagi offered a weak grin of thanks for her friend. She popped it open, revealing the Silver Crystal and pried said crystal out. She then handed the now empty brooch to her future daughter. "Place your… Pink Moon… Crystal in… my locket… it should… allow you to… henshin alone" Ami nodded in agreement, her minicomputer in her hand.

"The power… stored in it…should allow you to… use the Moon… Kaleidoscope." Usagi smiled weakly, as Ami nodded again in the background, and looked at her lover. Mamoru attempted a smile that promptly twisted into a grimace of pain as yet another powerful spasm hit him. Leaning heavily on his right arm, Mamoru reached over Usagi with his left hand to touch his index finger to Chibiusa's forehead. Golden light briefly flared from his finger then sank into Chibiusa's body.

"T-there… now… you have… my ability… to throw… roses. It's… not much… but it… will help." He said and collapsed as his right arm gave out under him. Staying on his right side Mamoru clutched at his chest with his right hand and wrapped his left arm over and around Usagi's slim waist as she rolled to face him and painfully copied him by snaking her right arm about his waist and clutching at her heart with her left hand.

Chibiusa nodded and got up, turning away as she did so, unable to bear the sight of Usagi and Mamoru's pain. Ami touched Usagi's and Mamoru's foreheads in turn, leaving faint blue dots that faded away quickly and set up a mini camera that would send input to her Mercury computer.

"The camera feeds directly into my computer and the power I placed in your bodies will allow me to monitor the both of you." Ami explained, seeing the puzzled look on Usagi's and Mamoru's faces.

A knock then sounded from the apartment's front door. Rei closed her eyes testing the auras of the person or persons at the door. She suddenly smiled in relief and left to open the door before anyone could question her.

She returned quickly with four familiar faces in tow. Setsuna, Michiru, Haruka and a teenage Hotaru walked into the now crowded bedroom and greeted their bedridden princess.

Michiru held up her mirror and said, "We know everything. We have come to help you defeat the Dead Moon."

"Thank you," Chibiusa said for everyone. Taking a deep breath, Chibiusa donned her new role as the leader of the senshi like one would don a cloak and said, "Let's go up to the roof to henshin." Everyone nodded in acceptance and, after bowing to the couple in bed, left.

* * *

**Bea here: ok here's the second chapter what do you think? It is significantly longer than the original mainly cause I filled out the parts that I had previously skated and/or jumped over, which made it really choppy.**

**Please tell me what you think, especially if you have read the original before!**

**Ja ne!**


	3. Leader

**Bea here: ok, so as not to disrupt the flow of the story, I'm letting you know that I will be now be referring to Chibimoon as Moon while she stands in her mother's place.**

**On with the story!**

Chapter 3: Leader

Standing on the roof, Chibiusa pulled her henshin brooch off her bow and pried the Pink Moon Crystal out. Tucking the now empty broach into her subspace pocket, she carefully placed the Pink Moon Crystal into Usagi's henshin brooch and gripped it tightly. She then nodded and called out, "Everyone, henshin!"

"_Mercury Crystal Power..."_

"_Venus Crystal Power..."_

"_Mars Crystal Power..."_

"_Jupiter Crystal Power..."_

"_Saturn Crystal Power..."_

"_Uranus Crystal Power..."_

"_Neptune Crystal Power..."_

"_Pluto Crystal Power..."_

"_Moon Crisis..."_

(All) "MAKE-UP!!"

After everyone finished Moon looked down at her fuku. To her disappointment, there was no visible difference other than she wore Super Sailor Moon's brooch and now had three strips of piping at the top of her gloves instead of two.

Shaking her head at her thoughts, she nodded to the eight warriors who were now under her command and said, "Let's go." Sailor Uranus, being the tallest and strongest of the group, knelt in front of her so she could climb, piggyback style, onto her back.

Sailor Moon sighed ruefully but didn't protest, seeing how her eyes were on level with the most of the other senshi's bow jewels. There was no way they could make decent time if the others had to slow to a pace her shorter legs could keep up with. Once she was securely on the wind senshi's back, the group took off. Landing in front of the circus tent's entrance, Moon slid off Uranus' back.

Gulping slightly as the realization that she was the leader crashed over her, Moon then resolutely straightened her shoulders and bravely took the lead as they walked into the dark entrance. Once inside they were 'greeted' by the Amazoness Quartet.

"What no Sailor Moon? Did she and her stuffy boy-toy get cold feet at the last moment?" CereCere asked tauntingly as the other three laughed.

"We should send them some slippers! Ya know, like a good neighbor should." JunJun snickered as PallaPalla used her illusions to conjure up two pairs of house slippers.

"No she is here." Venus shot back to stop their joking and pointed to the pink haired sailor senshi that stood in the lead.

"I am Super Sailor Moon, Champion of Love and Justice." She stated strongly standing in Usagi's signature pose. For a brief moment everyone saw her mother's super fuku's colors superimposed over her own. The moment past and VesVes scoffed sarcastically

"_Sure_ you are, and we four are sailor senshi! 'In the name of the Amazon, we'll punish you!'" she parodied and laughed along with the other three. As soon as the red haired girl had spoke, Moon suddenly gazed intently at the four laughing girls.

For a split-second she saw them dressed in sailor fukus and everything clicked. Since she had first confronted them, she felt as if she knew these girls. Now she knew why: these girls were her court from the future, the Asteroid Senshi: Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Juno.

"But you are." She told the four girls softly.

"What did you say?" JunJun asked.

"I said 'but you are'" Sailor Moon repeated

"What do you mean?" PallaPalla asked, confused by Moon's cryptic words.

"VesVes said that if I was Sailor Moon, you four were sailor senshi. And she was right, on both accounts." Moon reached up to grasp her Pink Moon Crystal. "You are the Asteroid Senshi, my future court: Sailor Ceres, Sailor Vesta, Sailor Pallas, and Sailor Juno."

As everyone stared at her, she raised her Crystal and shouted: "Pink Moon Crystal Healing!" The four girls were bathed in soft pink light. When the light faded, the Asteroid Senshi stood where the Amazoness Quartet were moments ago.

"Thank you, Princess Lady Serenity, for freeing us. We will now go back into hibernation, to await your awakening in the future as Sailor Moon." Pallas, senshi of wisdom, said and the four disappeared. Moon returned her Crystal to her mother's broach and glanced at the smiling senshi.

"Let's go, guys." She said and they continued on to the Ring, where Zirconia awaited them.

"Greetings, senshi. I am Ringleader Zirconia and your executioner."

"Very likely," Uranus scoffed.

"You cannot defeat me! I am a part of our glorious Queen Nehelenia." Zirconia shot back and then smiled evilly. "But first, Her Majesty would like me to deliver the One who hides Pegasus in her dreams to her." Zirconia said and pointed to Sailor Moon. Spider webs shot from the shadows to engulf the startled girl in an evil cocoon.

"Sailor Moon!" the senshi shouted and Uranus whipped out her space Sword, clearly intending to cut Moon free of the fibers. But as she swung the weapon, the cocoon suddenly collapsed then disappeared.

"It is no use. She in now in the hands of Queen Nehelenia. As you are in mine." Zirconia said cruelly and struck them with a bolt of black lightning.

* * *

"Chibiusa-chan!" Mamoru and Usagi gasped, feeling her capture, then let out screams of pain as a spasm, far more powerful than all of the previous, struck them. Not bothering to grab their chests in a futile effort to lessen the pain, the two simply clung to each other, locked in an embrace, each helping the other to help cope with the pain.

They were steadily weakening as their fevers rose dangerously, chapping their lips and making them sweat profusely, and both had to fight for each breath. The lovers prayed _please let her be safe. _

* * *

**Bea here again: ok, I didn't have to change much on this chapter so I got it up in a fairly short order. Please review and tell me what you think of it!  
Thanks so much to Sailor Yellow Rose for leaving a review and for setting an alert on it! Yay, I got my first review for this fic! *runs around squealing with delight***

**Ja ne!**


	4. Helios

**Bea here: okay my beta/muse has NOT edited all of this chapter, but she has given me permission to post it anyway. I will eventually be re-posting a beta-ed version, but not sure when. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 4: Helios

"Aaaaaaaah!" Moon screamed, mostly out of surprise though the teleportation was mildly painful. When she felt the webs disappear Moon found she could open her eyes just in time to see the narrow aisle she appeared over rush up to meet her.

Moon rotated so as to fall on her ass rather than risk a twisted ankle. Looking around the room she saw an endless black space, the only break in this was a white aisle and various slender pillars hanging and floating like stalagmites and stalactites. Straining her eyes, Moon thought she could see the outlines of a large throne shrouded in shadows.

She climbed to her feet, rubbing her sore posterior absently, her eyes inexorably drawn to the yawning abyss below her. Moon shivered and yanked her ruby gaze from the dizzying sight. Turning she continued her evaluation of the room. Looking ahead to her left, she inhaled sharply, tears pricking her eyes.

She walked slowly towards the object that now riveted her attention and heart. It was a cage of sorts that was seemingly hanging in midair, but that could be because Moon couldn't see the ceiling.

The cage was a curious thing. It consisted of a crimson top and bottom that together looked like a sphere of jagged teeth or pincers closing in on its prisoner. And in the middle of the contraption, suspended by spider webs, hanging upside-down was a young man of about fifteen.

He was of slender, but muscular, build, had curly white hair in which a slender horn with a rhombus base nestled just above his forehead. Moon noted absently that the horn was glowing with a golden light, though the forehead drop was so pale that only the barest hint of red showed. His eyes were closed, but she knew by heart what color they would be.

His skin was even paler than his white hair and he wore nothing over his body except the webs that held him trapped, covering him from bellybutton to mid-thigh. His feet were pointed up due to the webs binding his knees and calves together and above his head, giving him the appearance of a diving bird.

His arms were held out to either side of his torso and were pulled up and behind his shoulders. The evil fibers gripped his elbow and wrists kept his flaccid limbs from falling. It was beyond Moon as to how the youth's head remained slightly up turned when his soul wasn't there nor were there webs holding it.

But her attention quickly dismissed those observations and idle question to the back of her mind as her eyes were drawn inexorably to the young man's face. Moon's heart ached, seeing him so lifeless, exposed and helpless, for she knew who this was.

"Oh Helios," She whispered, tears making tracks down her cheeks. Judging the distance between her and the edge of the cage, Moon made a graceful leap up to the where the two sections met. Grabbing onto the 'bars' she found they were unexpectedly slick. Scrambling as her gloved hands slid down the bars a few inches, Moon was able to find purchase for her feet in the form of upward facing thorns on the bottom bars.

She took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, after which the young senshi started to carefully crawl up the red pincers amidst the swaying of the sphere. Once she was fully on the top section, Moon reached inside the cage to grab a length of web that was anchored against the bar to her right.

She swung her slender body between the bars, at first only hanging on with her right hand, but the appendage was soon joined by its mate and she wrapped her legs around the rope as well.

As Moon slid herself down the length, she shivered. The silken yet slightly sticky threads under her hands gave off a dark aura, heavy with hate, vanity and malice. The fibers leeched the heat from her fingers and her legs as she lowly let herself slide down by placing one hand under the other.

She looked down when her booted toes came into contact with something other than web. She saw that her feet were on the small of Helios' back. She unhooked her legs and crouched on him.

_I hope I don't injure his back._ Moon thought anxiously, gently transferring all of her weight from the rope to the still body beneath her. She carefully examined the way the webs held the priest beneath her carefully.

_If I cut the wrong ones, we could both end up falling to our…deaths I suppose. I really don't care to find out just how endless that space beneath the aisle is._ Moon thought queasily. Seeing how the webs attached to the cage Moon nodded decisively and went into action.

Quickly she slipped off her tiara, remembering all the times her mother had used hers as the Frisbee from hell. Moon had tried to use the same attack when she first became Sailor Chibimoon, but she was unsuccessful.

_Let's hope that I can, now that I'm Sailor Moon._ The pink haired pre-teen thought to herself. Holding it up in her right palm, she felt that her tiara was a little warmer than usual. _Well here goes nothing._

"Moon…" As she uttered the first syllable, Moon saw the metal glitter and shine as it slowly started to spin. The ornament quickly picked up speed and became the familiar discus of light that her mother used. Grinning she altered her hand position under her tiara, causing the ornament to become vertical.

Seeing the webs that held his limbs captive connected to the top section for the most part, Moon decided to cut the ones around his torso that were anchored on the bottom first. With any luck the bottom half of the cage would fall allowing her to jump to the aisle more easily.

Turning in place, she grabbed onto the rope she had slid down and leaned down. As she inspected the webs while her hair fell around her, Moon found her face getting red. She told herself it was because her head was upside down, but Moon knew it was because she practically had her face directly over his groin.

_I'm SO glad his soul's not in right now. We'd probably BOTH die of mortification._ She snaked her arm to the nearest hank and ran the golden discus through it. The fibers were sliced neatly and easily, though the remains of the hank looked burnt at the ends.

Pulling herself upright, Moon was careful not to knick Helios with her tiara. She then cut all the other ropes connecting to the bottom. As she sliced the last one, the bottom half of the cage dropped. Moon waited anxiously for a noise as it hit the bottom, but it never came.

_Well, that's good I guess. So the noise won't attract anyone._ She told herself resolutely raising her eyes to the problem at hand. She cut the remaining web anchors from his legs, allowing them to fall and caused his body to assume a 'V' position.

She spun and repeated the process with his arms, which promptly dropped to dangle beneath him. Her knees, which were on his shoulder blades, felt frozen. _His body is so cold! Almost as if he was dead._ She turned and cut all but one rope of web anchoring his torso.

Now for the tricky part. She slipped her tiara back on to free both hands and wrapped her arms around his chest and her legs around his waist, blushing like mad. She then deliberately overbalanced and swung so that her face almost touched his pale chest. _I probably look like a sloth hanging on a branch._ She thought.

She turned her head to look down, but in doing so her ear got pressed against his chest. Moon froze, hearing the faintest of heartbeats. And now that she was clinging to him, she could feel his lungs inhaling and exhaling ever so slowly, his chest barely moving at all. She smiled at the faint signs of life and turned her attention to what lay below her.

Helios had turned a little when she had cut him loose of the webs, so instead of being behind her head, the aisle was now to her right. Blushing even harder, Moon started to swing both of their bodies in a pendulum motion towards the walkway.

When she got enough speed up, Moon pulled off her tiara again and powered it up. She reached up and had her discus poised next to the final rope of web. She sliced it right as they reached the end of the arc closest to the passageway.

Quicker than thought, Moon had her tiara back on and her legs unwrapped from Helios. Her booted feet hit the walkway and stumbled from the awkward way she was supporting Helios.

Lowering him until his web covered knees touched the ground, Moon propped him up and quickly used her tiara to cut the web binding his legs together. Turning around and crouching, she allowed his chest to rest on her back as she grabbed his arms and slung them over her shoulders. As she twisted to grab his legs so she could carry him piggy-back style, Moon smiled over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Helios, I'll save you and get us both out of here." She assured him, though she knew that he couldn't hear her.

"Oh, no you won't, Sailor Moon!" a cold, cruel female voice rang out from the shadows behind her. Moon gasped and whirled, Helios' body sliding halfway off her back.

A woman had emerged from the shadows, with long black hair and a cold smile. Her dress was elaborate affair of dark green and cream cloth. A purple cape hung on her otherwise bare shoulders. Looking into the woman's eyes she barely had the chance to see that they were slitted before the woman raised her hand up palm facing Moon.

Black lightning shot from her delicate hand to strike Moon in the chest. The pink haired senshi screamed in pain as the force of the attack send her flying backward. She landed on her back about five feet away.

Moon leaped to her feet and pulled out a rose. The woman smirked raised her other hand. Webs shot out from the shadows to trap Sailor Moon. Webs wrapped around her waist, ankles and wrists. Her hand holding the rose was free, but she couldn't move her arm to throw it.

She glared at the woman, remembering what Zirconia had said earlier. _So this must be Queen Nehelenia._ Moon thought to herself as said queen swept past Helios' limp body to stand in front of her.

"So you are the one Helios is hiding in, hm?" Nehelenia drawled, cocking her head ever so slightly. Moon continued to glare up at her, seeing that her eyes were silver with gold slits, and felt her aura smother her. It was the same as the spider webs' aura.

Before Sailor Moon could think of a smart retort Nehelenia turned and walked back to where Helios lay. The older woman held her hands over his pale body as she smirked. Helios' body rose to float in front of the queen, who now faced Moon, at waist height. His body formed an upward arc, his lean, muscular arms hanging down.

Nehelenia then banished the remaining spider webs from his white body. She just stared hungrily at the priest's nude body for a few seconds, the expression on her face reflecting her greed and lust.

Moon herself blushed furiously even as her heart constricted painfully at the sight of Helios lying exposed and helpless. Unable to help him, she resolutely kept her eyes on his pale face. Finally Nehelenia flicked her fingers, clothing him in the outfit she had saw on him the first time he showed her his true form.

Suddenly Nehelenia looked up from her captive and smiled cruelly at Sailor Moon. She crossed her arms as her eyes glowed red. Black lightning raced along all the webs holding her trapped. Moon screamed from the pain of the dark energy ripping through her slender frame. She arched her back as her hands spasmed, allowing the rose she had formed to fall to the ground. Over her screams Moon heard the evil queen's cold voice.

"High Priest Helios of Elysion, if you don't want me to slowly electrocute this girl to her death, return to your body now!" she called out. A moment later the lightning stopped, leaving Moon sore and shaking. She sagged against her bonds, breathing harshly as she struggled to raise her head.

She felt a great sadness and guilt flood her, though not her own. It took a moment to realize it was Helios' emotions she was feeling. By that time her whole body was starting to glow with a soft golden light.

"Helios No!" Sailor Moon shouted hoarsely, shaking her head vehemently. It was futile and she knew it; Helios would sooner cut off his own hand rather than let her suffer on his account.

A gentle warmth filled her tinged with sadness, guilt, and something else, an emotion Moon knew she should know, that she felt herself, but couldn't place for the life of her. The golden mist began drifting out of her along with the emotions and a male presence that had been hovering at the edge of her consciousness.

The mist consolidated into a softly glowing shape. A man to be exact, she could almost see a face but not quite. There was no detail beyond the body shape from shoulders down, though Moon could tell the form 'wore' no clothes.

"Helios, please don't do this. Come back please." She whispered as she strained against her bonds futilely. Her hands curled into fists and she vainly tugged as tears sprang up in her eyes. Nehelenia, impatient with Helios' hesitation, sent a powerful but brief wave of lightning down the ropes of web that held Sailor Moon.

She screamed in pain as she heard Nehelenia speak. "Speed up the process Helios, or that will seem like a love tap next to what I'll happily put her through." She told the mist in front of Moon. The pink haired girl raised her head to stare entreatingly at the soul of the man she secretly liked, a lone tear slipping down her pale cheek.

Helios' spirit raised a glowing 'hand' and brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek, managing to wipe the tear away. Where his soul touched her skin, Moon felt a gentle warm, the tingle of pure magic and power, and the same mix of emotions that filled her earlier.

The hand then briefly cupped her cheek, and somehow his soul spoke in her mind. _I'm sorry my maiden. But I can't bear watching her do this to you._ His strong, gentle tenor voice echoed in her mind as his feet and legs lost their form. He floated away from her, his hand dropping after a moment.

Turning, he continued to slowly float toward his body. Once he reached it, Helios' soul paused. She saw his 'head' look down at his body before looking up to see Nehelenia's cruelly smiling face.

"_Now_ Helios. Or I will kill the girl." Nehelenia purred as Helios' soul seemed to glare at Nehelenia. After a moment he complied, falling into his body in stream of golden light. After a moment Helios began to breathe and color slowly returned to his skin.

As his eyelids twitched then opened, revealing breath taking golden amber eyes, Nehelenia said, "I told you before I keep what I take and get what I want." She told the man in front of her quietly, but loud enough for Moon to hear.

"You **will** become my lover and slave even if I have to **make** you fall in love with me." She continued, smirking when Moon snarled at her. Curiously Helios just lay there with absolutely no expression on his face. Then the queen's face hardened, clearly through taunting her captive.

"Now give me the Golden Crystal!" Helios, still floating parallel to the floor, finally showed a sign of life. He turned his head slightly towards Nehelenia and glared at her in contempt.

"And _I_ told _you_ that you can't own me anymore than you can control my mind or heart. And I will never give the Golden Crystal to an evil, selfish creature like you!" he said quietly but venomously.

Nehelenia recoiled a few paces back and brought up her arms in a defensive position. Helios set his feet on the ground and stood up as he continued to glare disdainfully and pityingly at the evil woman in front of him. His hands were fisted at his sides, and from behind, Moon had the feeling he was deliberately standing between her and the queen in order to protect her.

"No those eyes, those horrible eyes. I can't bear them! Stop it! Stop glaring at me with such cold contempt and pity!" Helios said nothing, but continued to glare at his now shivering captor. Moon suddenly felt the webs binding her crumble as the queen unconsciously released her. "I said, _STOP IT!_" Nehelenia shrieked and blasted him with black lightning.

Helios stood strong against her attack for a moment then flinched and flew backwards, a brief cry of pain tearing from his lips. He landed in Moon's arms, the back of his head striking her collarbone. Moon fell to her knees from the impact, dismissing the fading pain from her shoulder and gently laid him on the ground while peering anxiously at his face. His eyes were closed again and his lips twisted into a grimace of pain, seemingly knocked unconscious.

"Helios, Helios! Wake up please! Oh Helios," she said, gently shaking his shoulders. Unnoticed by the pre-teen in the background, Nehelenia huddled in the shadows, recovering her composure. Moon choked back a distressed sob and laid her right cheek on his forehead and the bridge of his nose, cupped her left hand on his right cheek and buried the gloved fingers of her right hand into the tousled curls on the crown of his head, just behind his horn. After a moment or two she heard the faintest of moans escape his lips and felt his eyelashes flutter against her cheek.

"My maiden," he whispered as she raised her head in relief.

"Helios! Are you alright?" she asked as he pulled himself into a kneeling position. He looked at her tenderly and nodded, smiling softly. "Oh, I'm so glad!" Moon exclaimed and embraced him tightly, like she never wanted to let go. Helios in turn, wrapped his arms around her, holding his maiden close. Suddenly Nehelenia's voice rang out loaded with anger and jealousy.

"No! If I can't have him, no one can!" She shrieked and called spider webs up to capture them. The couple didn't have time to react before the webs stole around their waists. Moon was pulled back to the left and slightly up, while Helios was pinned where he was.

"Chibiusa-chan!" Helios yelled, his heart in his throat. He couldn't quite put a name to the emotion that flooded him along with his sheer panic at the sight of her retreating form. Faster than he thought himself capable of, the priest shot his right arm up to catch his beautiful maiden's slim wrist in his strong grip.

"That's the first time." Moon said softly. Her wrist shifted slightly in his grip as she twisted her hand around to grab his sleeve. He could feel her rapid pulse through her thin gloves.

"Huh?" Helios' eyes widened. It became harder to keep his grip on her, as the webs did their best to pull them apart. His arm was screaming in protest and his shoulder was threatening to dislocate. Sweating from nerves and exertion, the white haired teen felt his damp palm slide down to Moon's hand. Straining, Helios tightened his long fingers as much as he could while he waited for her explanation to her cryptic remark.

"That's the first time you called me by my name, Helios." She explained, smiling. Realizing the importance of what he said and how happy it made her, Helios returned her smile with a small, but heartfelt, one of his own. As the pull of the webs overcame their strength, Helios felt his precious maiden's hand slip out of his hands, taking his light and hope with the delicate appendage.

"Helios!" Sailor Moon screamed, fear and loss raising her voice an octave as her body was pulled away from his.

"Chibiusa-chan!" Helios felt his heart simultaneously jump into his mouth and drop into his shoes as a rush of fear fueled adrenaline flooded him. But even as his hand groped for his maiden's, a rope of web wrapped around his wrist and yanked it back.

Another cord captured his left wrist, and together the fibers swept his arms back and up. If it weren't for the fact that the webs pulled his arms too far behind him, Helios' upper body looked to be nailed to an invisible crucifix.

He felt tendrils wrap around his ankles, preventing the young priest from shifting out of his current kneeling position, not even to straighten his torso, so he was forced to crane his head up to watch the webs move Moon into the position Nehelenia wished.

She was about two meters from him now, webs wrapped once more around her ankles, wrists, and waist. Her body was in the same position as DaVinchi's Vitruvian Man, with her hands above her shoulders and legs apart. She was held in midair to the left of the aisle, though only by about two feet.

The reason for her position became clear to the priest as Nehelenia circled around him to pose artfully in front of him. She glanced over her shoulder at Sailor Moon, making sure that the pink haired senshi still had a clear view of the teen. Helios swallowed a sudden lump in his throat as his guts twisted in dread.

_That can't be good, if that witch is making sure my maiden can still see me with her there._ The white haired youth thought as his mouth turned into an arid desert from nerves. He turned his head to his right to look up into Nehelenia's smirking face, hoping his fear didn't show.

"Now, if you please, Helios, give me the Golden Crystal." She commanded, a glint in her odd eyes telling the priest that his hopes were vain. Tugging angrily at the fibers holding him captive, he fisted his hands when the webs simply tightened their grip on him.

"I told you I don't know who it is in! And even if I did I would never give it to you!" Helios snapped at her, seeing Moon's puzzled but worried face behind his enemy. She was struggling against her bonds, trying to get a hand to her forehead to grab her tiara while the queen's attention was on him.

"Oh, but I do know how to get it, even if I don't know who it's in." Queen Nehelenia purred evilly. Helios looked up at her in alarm and shock. She continued, "You are connected to the person who holds the Golden Crystal. So if I pull the horn that I planted onto your head off, it will drag the Crystal with it." She chuckled, her eyes full of malice. "Of course, you won't survive to see the start of my glorious reign, for the horn will use your very life-force to pull the Crystal into itself, draining and killing you!" She laughed shrilly as Helios' eyes dilated in fear and he redoubled his efforts to escape.

"_No!!!!!_" Moon screamed desperately as Nehelenia slowly reached out a hand to the now brightly glowing horn on Helios' head. The queen paused at the young senshi's anguished sobs, turning to smile maliciously at Moon. Keeping half an eye on the pink-haired senshi's face, the evil queen drew back her hand and tapped a long index finger on her chin in a mock thoughtful pose.

"Though, now that I think about it, there is a way for you to live, my dear Helios." She purred seductively. Helios tightened his lips refusing to ask how, knowing that was what she wanted. The white haired priest had a sinking feeling he would not like the option. Tired of waiting for his response, Nehelenia continued, casting her hungry eyes upon his trapped body.

"I _could_ us my own power in place of yours." She paused, smirking at Sailor Moon before turning most of her attention back to Helios. "If you swear an everlasting pact with me to become my slave for all eternity." Nehelenia held out her hand the back of it in front of Helios' face, fingernails languidly pointing down. "Kiss my hand and swear your loyalty to me and I will in turn spare your life, Helios." Her cold voice fairly caressed his name, making the young man shudder internally in disgust.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Helios could see his maiden's face. Her deep crimson eyes conveyed her wish for Helios to not die, but at the same time she was appalled by the thought of him becoming Nehelenia's slave. Her conflicting thoughts and fear for Helios manifested itself in the crystalline tears flowing down her cheeks.

Helios' heart constricted at the sight of her mental agony, and he looked away from her, unable to bear being the cause of those tears, however indirectly. Turning his eyes to the too pale hand in front of him the teen then looked up taking in the queen hungry, lustful gaze quickly.

Gathering his courage and struggling to bury his fear in defiance, Helios drew in a deep breath and steeled himself. Collecting what moisture he could in his paper dry mouth, the white haired priest spat on her hand and looked up to her outraged face.

"Never!" he snarled, seeing Moon's tear stained face reflect her desperation, fear, grief and pride for his refusal to bend to the witch's will. Helios could do nothing to ease her emotional maelstrom, so he simply gazed at her, taking in the sight of her to imprint on his heart, so at the very least he had her beautiful face and spirit to comfort him in death.

Helios was so busy with his study of his maiden that he didn't see Nehelenia's hand until it was too late to dodge. With a crack like a whip, she back handed him, snapping his head to the side and making him see stars. Feeling a wet streak across his abused right cheek, the teen realized that Nehelenia also used his cheek to wipe his saliva off her hand.

"Helios!" his maiden's sweet voice reached his ears, loaded with concern. The sweet sound cut through the stars and lessened the pain in his cheek somewhat. Opening eyes he hadn't realized he had shut, Helios turned his head up to glare at the wicked creature standing in front of him. She smoothed her features, which had been twisted in a snarl, into a superior smirk, her every pore exuding cruelty.

"Fine, my insolent little toy. If that is your choice, then you have outlived your usefulness." She said coldly, smirking malevolently as she raised her hand to reach for the still brightly glowing horn nestled in Helios' curls. His heart leapt into his throat as fear fought to paralyze him. It was the sound of Moon yelling for Nehelenia to stop that allowed him to cut through his terror and form a plan.

Helios waited until her hand was almost touching the cursed thing before moving. The teen jerked his head to the side and down, as his breath came fast and shallow in his lungs, his heart racing from fear and adrenaline. The witch screeched in pain as Helios felt liquid slide from the horn to his scalp.

Looking up he saw the queen healing a long gash on her left palm. Her face twisted in a snarl as her livid eyes came up to burn into him. His heartbeat was even faster now as sweat dotted his forehead and upper lip.

Nehelenia shot her right hand forward, fingers curled like claws. Helios didn't have time to dodge this time as she firmly grasped the horn and pulled, miniature black lightnings dancing on her hand and the horn.

"_AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_" Helios screamed in anguish as the horn was literally ripped from his head. His neck was stretched to its limit in response to his body's futile attempt to stop the pain, which was inconceivable. It felt like someone was slowly pulling his head from his neck. He felt the individual and uniquely exquisite agony of his skin, muscles and blood vessels stretching, rupturing and tearing away from his skull as the horn was removed.

Even as he experienced this unbearable pain, he felt his life force being used to open a channel inside him to the holder of the Golden Crystal. It was his Prince! A spilt second after he realized this Helios felt the Golden Crystal, tangled together with the Prince's noble soul, rip through the connection and his body to enter the horn along with all but the dredges of his life-force.

The horn pulled free of the last shreds of skin and muscle. Dying, blinded by pain and deafened by the rush of blood from his body, Helios still dimly heard Chibiusa screaming his name in horror, fear, denial, and…love. He felt his body twist to fall on his back as the webs released him.

Finally realizing what the emotion flooding him was in his last moments, Helios forced his eyes open. Unable to die without telling Chibiusa of his love, the young man dragged a ragged breath in through bloody lips, willing his heart to stay beat for a few more seconds.

Fighting the darkness enveloping him, Helios somehow found the strength to turn his head slowly toward his lovely maiden. Through the blood and tears of pain and grief he saw her and called brokenly out to her.

"C-Chibiusa… I'm sorry… I… love you… my… maiden." As the last word escaped his numb lips, Helios felt his muscles give out on him, his head fall to one side and the blackness of oblivion close its jaws around him.

* * *

**Bea here: again I managed to double the length of the original chapter, more than double to be truthful. It was originally not quite three full pages; it is now not quite eight all told.**

**-_-' but I think it's worth it. Please tell me what you think, especially if you think I need to edit it in some way!**

**I won't bore you with the mundane happenings of my life this time, so until next update…**

**Ja ne!**

**P.S. sorry it took so long to update, my muse/beta was busy and couldn't get to it until recently. T_T**


	5. Carrier of the Golden Crystal

**Bea here: okay my beta/muse has NOT edited this chapter, but she has given me permission to post it anyway. I will eventually be re-posting a beta-ed version, but not sure when. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 5: Carrier of the Golden Crystal

"_Helios, Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!_" Moon screamed as she watched Queen Nehelenia rip the horn from his head. Nehelenia laughed and dragged the process out, taking ten long seconds to slowly extract the horn from Helios. As she watched the horn tear away, Moon choked down the bile in the back of her throat even as her heart tore in two. Crimson blood soaked his hair and head, as the liquid streamed down his face in rivulets. The horn ripped free of his head, briefly exposing the white bone of his skull before blood covered it.

The webs holding him disappeared and Helios twisted to fall on his back, Nehelenia backing away from his body so as not to stain her clothes red. Sailor Moon gazed through her tears, realizing in an instant that she loved him. The pink haired senshi continued to shriek his name and her denials, as she saw his head tilt towards her and pain filled eyes open. She cut off her screams when she saw his lips start to move.

"C-Chibiusa… I'm sorry… I… love you… my… maiden." He called out in his now pain filled tenor voice, then his eyes slid closed once more and his body went limp, his breath leaving him in a faint sigh.

"_**Helioooooooooooooooooossssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_" Moon struggled wildly against her bindings, yelling the name of her beloved. Nehelenia chuckled malevolently, drawing Sailor Moon's attention to her and stilling her now hoarse voice. The horn, which was still in its original shape and still had pieces of Helios's skin on it, was changing shape. It now formed into a crystal similar to the shape of the Silver Crystal.

"You will be trapped here forever, Sailor Moon, alone, but for the corpse of your 'beloved' Helios. You will never be able to escape!" Queen Nehelenia said triumphantly and disappeared, laughing shrilly. As soon as she left Moon was released from her bonds and fell.

Yelping in fear, Moon frantically shot her arms out to catch the edge of the aisle by her gloved fingers. Clinging to the surprising thin walkway, the senshi clambered up onto the aisle. Barely pausing a half second to recover, Moon scrambled up and dropped by Helios.

Looking at him, she saw a still slowly widening pool of blood under his now crimson curls. The red liquid was seeping into his clothes, crawling up the fibers of his over-robe to extend fingers over his chest and arms, like some mist-like youma. Moon raised trembling hands and wiped as much of the blood as she could off his face, which proved to be even paler than it was when his soul had left his body.

Placing two gloved fingers against the major artery on his neck, a choked off sob of anguish escaped her lips. There was no pulse! Refusing to let it end this way, Moon came up with a reckless plan. Quickly she popped out her Pink Moon Crystal, shuddering at the sight of her red hands and the blood she was getting on her bow and brooch, and activated its healing powers. Soft pink light spilled from the crystal to bathe his prone body.

_Please, let this work. Selene, ancestress and Goddess of the White Moon, please help me find the strength and knowledge to bring him back to me._ Moon prayed as the pink light totally encased his body. But although her powers swirled around him and sank into his body, nothing happened. She sobbed brokenly as the light flickered, Chibiusa knew that if she let her emotions rule her, she wouldn't be able to use the powers of her Crystal.

Realizing that the power of the Pink Moon Crystal couldn't heal him by itself, Moon struggled to send her consciousness into her power that now filled Helios, so she could direct it. Fumbling, Chibiusa felt the seconds tick by and knew that if she couldn't master it quickly, there would be no chance for Helios to revive.

Recklessly, she threw her spirit completely out of her body and into his, trying to find Helios' spirit, if nothing else to bring him into her body once more until she could heal his body.

_**So. You have intelligence and determination as well as courage.**_ A powerful, feminine voice rang in her head as a presence as old as time and as bright as the moon filled her. Moon gasped and lost her concentration. Comforting mental 'hands' steadied her and the presence seemed to smile.

_S-Selene?!_ Chibiusa gasped mentally even as she continued to search for Helios.

_**Ah, quick too. You make me proud, blood of my blood.**_ The Moon Goddess answered. _**You are worthy to receive my Help. You didn't give up when I didn't Answer immediately. Indeed, you came up with another approach, and your determination to save the one you love is admirable.**_ She continued.

_**But you will not succeed this way. You must go about it in the proper way.**_ Chibiusa recognized this as another test. One to see whether she would ask, plead or demand help.

_Please show me the way for me to save him, Great Mother._ She asked, feeling calm and sure, though the circumstances were anything but. The sense of a laughter and joy radiated throughout her.

_**Very good turn of phrase, My Child. In order for you to succeed, you must first have a bond with him to channel your power through and to keep his soul from going Beyond.**_ She paused, and Chibiusa thought back to the time Venus had told her of the time that her mother had saved her father from the brink of dead in their fight against Metallia. The blond senshi had said it was their bond of love that made it possible.

_I need to use my love for him, and his for me, as a bridge to his soul!_ She thought and promptly located the rope of power the same color as her eyes inside herself.

_**Exactly, then use his spirit as a conduit to his body in order to heal him.**_ Selene stated. Moon had already found Helios' spirit and had stopped its journey to the other side. Sending her power to cocoon him she started reeling him back.

_Now to heal him, so he has a place to come back to._ Chibiusa thought to herself, sensing Her approval. Now she pulled the power she had recklessly poured into Helios' body out of him to re-conduct it through her bond to his spirit and through that, his body.

Following the power with her mind, she did her best to direct her power to heal his wound and replenish his blood. With the weight of her determination and love behind it and Selene's gentle guidance, her power obeyed. Slowly the gaping hole on his head stopped bleeding as new blood vessels, nerves, muscle, skin and hair grew over it.

He started breathing again and his skin regained its color as the Crystal's power restarted his heart. Sailor Moon also sent the healing to his brain to heal and revive any parts of his brain that might have died from lack of oxygen.

As a final touch, Moon also cleaned off the blood that was on him and her. Exhausted but joyful, Moon pulled her power back into herself once more and returned her crystal to her brooch. She felt Selene's presence fade gracefully from her mind and waited for Helios to regain consciousness.

* * *

Darkness. He was surrounded by cold, painful darkness. Somehow even though he couldn't see or feel anything, Helios knew he was travelling somewhere. He realized that he was growing farther away from his body and towards Death, but was powerless to stop or even slow down.

Then, suddenly he saw a crimson cord fade into view that ended at his heart and stretched back to where his body lay. Helios felt the cord with his mind even as a wave of soft pink energy traveled on it towards him, that this rope was an emotional bond between him and someone else. But for the life of him, Helios couldn't get his mind to focus on what the emotion was, or who it led to.

A micro second later, those questions faded from his mind as the warm pink light reached him and surrounded him. Abruptly, he knew that he was no longer moving away; indeed he was actually being pulled back in the direction the rope led. Even though the priest didn't quite know what was going on, his heart said to help whoever was the source of the light, for Helios could sense that the person was struggling and that the darkness outside his cocoon was trying to pull him away.

So he fought, 'turning' and using his 'arms' to grab the red thread and use it to reel himself in. as he approached his destination, Helios 'saw' that it was his body, which was glowing with the same power that enveloped him, and saw that his wounds where healing before his eyes.

Exhausted from the effort, Helios relaxed and allowed the light to pull him the rest of the way in and settle him back in his body, which was completely healed.

Back in his body, Helios could feel the cold floor beneath him, the lingering pain and disorientation, and the warm pink light leaving him. But it left behind new strength and banished the last of the pain. Groaning faintly, Helios slid his eyes open.

"Helios!" Moon exclaimed happily when she heard him groan and saw his beautiful eyes flutter open. He slowly turned his head towards her and a heartbreakingly joyful smile spread across his face.

"Chibiusa! What happened? I thought that I was… dead." The priest hesitated on the last word, shuddering as the fresh memory raced through his mind. Reaching a hand over, Helios assured himself that this was all real by wrapping his trembling fingers around his maiden's warm gloved hand.

"Shh, you were but I, with help from the Goddess Selene, was able to revive and heal you." She explained, twisting her hand in his grasp to interlace her fingers through his. Helios sat up slowly and stiffly with her help. As she watched him explore the front of his head with his fingers, she asked timidly, "Uh, Helios?"

"Yes?" Golden eyes, still slightly dilated and dazed, turned to gaze into ruby orbs.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Moon asked in a near whisper, embarrassed by her bluntness, but unable to help herself.

"That I love you?" he asked and she nodded, blushing. "Yes" Helios said simply and sincerely.

"Oh Helios, I love you too!" Moon said, joy filling her heart, and threw her arms carefully around him. Helios hugged her back, gently pulling her onto his lap. Then he remembered something vital.

"Chibiusa! I know who had the Golden Crystal hidden in his body!" He said urgently, feeling her stiffen in his arms as she looked up in dread.

"Who?" she whispered; Helios closed his eyes and responded.

"Endymion-sama."

* * *

"AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh——" the anguished scream cut through the apartment like a tormented spirit. The dark haired man clutched his chest as his blonde companion watched, terrified.

"Mamo-chan! What's wrong?!" Mamoru had suddenly had suddenly stiffened against her and screamed as if his very soul was being ripped from his body. Then as suddenly as the scream started, it was cut off and Mamoru fell limp against the bed.

Usagi felt and saw an immense amount of his golden energy and his soul condense to form a crystal in the middle of his chest and then disappear, as if stolen. Somehow she knew that that was the Golden Crystal, the earth's equivalent to her Silver Crystal, that it was a part of his soul and his soul a part of it, just like the Silver Crystal was to her. And with a certainty that shook her to the core, Usagi knew that he would die without it.

Fighting her weakness and pain, Usagi called on the powers of the Silver Crystal to bind his body to hers, just as Mamoru had done with Chibiusa's body in when Mistress 9 had stolen her Heart Crystal. Finished, she let herself fall back onto the bed and huddled against the alive but soulless body of her beloved. She hugged his limp, warm body to her, molding herself against him.

"Mamo-chan… come back… to me… please… my love." She whispered heartbrokenly and clung to his body like a drowning person to her floating ring.

* * *

"Umph!" Sailor Jupiter let out a grunt as she flew backwards.

"Jupiter, are you alright?" Mercury asked, looking up from analyzing Zirconia in order to find out how to defeat her.

"Yeah I am Mercury. _Jupiter Oak Evolution_!" Jupiter ended, flinging dozens of leaf shaped bits of lightning at Zirconia. Zirconia's shield absorbed the attack same as everybody else's. Sailor Saturn came up to Mercury and said softly:

"I'm going to try physically cutting open her shield. It may only hold against magical attacks."

"Good idea, I'll monitor you." Mercury replied as Saturn whipped out her Silence Glaive, leapt up about 15 ft and fell on the shield, slicing it diagonally. The shield withheld the physical attack as well.

"Everyone!" Mercury shouted then continued once she had their attention, "the only way to destroy her is with Sailor Planet Attack!"

"Right," Pluto said as all eight of the senshi leapt up to form a group in the air and pointed their right index fingers at Zirconia.

"_Sailor Planet Attack!_" they shouted as blinding white power erupted from them to utterly consume Zirconia, leaving nothing of her but the finest of dust.

"Everyone, something's happening to Mamoru!" Mercury shouted, typing furiously into her minicomputer. "The Golden Crystal is emerging from him! It must be Mamoru's crystal and the equivalent of the Silver Crystal! And… oh no!" she exclaimed, then continued, "the Golden Crystal has been stolen from him, and his soul with it!"

"The crystal is an integral part of his soul, just like the Princess and her Silver Crystal." Pluto said quietly.

"The good news is that Usagi is keeping his body alive by binding his body to hers." Mercury said and looked up.

"That means that Chibiusa is still alive, so we still have a Sailor Moon." Venus stated with relief.

"Let's go find Moon," Mars said urgently. "She may need help."

"Oh she does, but you won't have a chance to help her." A cold, evil voice spoke from behind them. The senshi whirled to find Queen Nehelenia lounging on a couch/throne floating in midair. In one hand she held something golden. Mercury donned her goggles and identified the golden object with a gasp.

"She has the Golden Crystal!"

"Yes, and Helios and the man who held it in his body are now dead" Nehelenia crowed, obviously arriving just in time to hear Mars' remark. "Your precious Sailor Moon is trapped and will not be able to escape. I will kill all of you in the most painful way possible, show your mangled bodies to her and finally murder her!" Nehelenia finished and raised the Golden Crystal.

* * *

**Bea here: ok didn't change too much with this one, except to make a bigger deal of the whole 'coming back from the dead' thing. Hope u enjoy. As for me, I'm busy with a new quarter of school and I'm now taking latin dance as well as karate! Yay for me ^^**

**One other thing. I've been getting a lot of reviews on BU&E but none on this one. So as I don't really have time to go looking up my reader traffic, I assume that no one really likes this story enough to review it, which in my book means you guys don't like it at all. So why bother putting up the other chapters?**

**If you want to read the next chapter, please tell me and I'll post it. I just don't think I should if the previous chapter were so bad that no one wanted to leave a review.**

**Ja ne!**


	6. Past

**Bea here: okay my beta/muse has NOT edited this chapter, but she has given me permission to post it anyway. I will eventually be re-posting a beta-ed version, but not sure when. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 6: Past

"Mamoru?!" Sailor Moon exclaimed in horror and fear.

"I should have seen it earlier." Helios said mournfully, clearly blaming himself for what had happened. "He is the guardian and Prince of Earth. Just like the Princess is to the Moon. And I knew that the Golden Crystal was similar to the Silver Crystal." He finished, hanging his head in shame.

"No Helios, it isn't your fault." Moon said quietly, placing her white clad hands on his cheeks and gently tilting his face up so she could look him in the eyes, which were twin pools of remorse and guilt. "Even Mamoru didn't know he had a power so strong and similar to Sailor Moon's."

"Nevertheless, he is dead now or is dying." Helios continued, "His soul was ripped from his body and his body will die without his soul, thus killing his soul!"

"Wait, calm down, Helios. If he was dead or dying I wouldn't be here right now; I would have disappeared when Nehelenia stole the Golden Crystal from my future father. Someone, probably Usagi, is keeping his body alive, thus keeping him alive." She said reasonably. He looked startled for a moment then closed his eyes briefly.

"You're right. Usagi has bound his body to hers. His body will not die as long as she is alive." Helios said after a minute, opening his eyes once more and smiled slightly.

"See? I told you." Moon stated happily, feeling her heart skip a beat at the sight of his gentle smile. She paused, remembering something that had her puzzled. "Anou, Helios? What did Nehelenia mean when she said 'the horn that I planted onto your head'?" She asked timidly.

"Oh that." Helios shuddered and ran slim fingers over the now hair covered spot where the horn had rested, reassuring himself that it was gone. "It was never a natural part of me. Nehelenia bound it to me when she captured me." Helios said miserably, his voice a mere whisper.

"What happened?" Her question called up unwanted memories, but as he looked into her ruby orbs, Helios knew that she was genuinely concerned and that if he refused to tell her, it would come off to that he didn't trust her. As if sensing his inner struggle, his maiden slid off his lap to sit beside him.

"It happened when the Dead Moon invaded Elysion…" he began softly, turning slightly away from her and staring at the floor, his voice curiously detached and emotionless, as if he was describing someone else's life.

_Flashback_

Helios was praying desperately, trying to repel the evil invaders with his powers as high priest. He felt and heard them ascend the stairs that led to the entrance of the temple he was kneeling in and gave up the futile tactic. Standing up and turning to face the door, Helios readied his powers. Hundreds of lemures, black prickly spheres with glowing red eyes and evil pouring off them in waves swarmed the temple and converged on him. Helios swiftly erected a spherical shield into existence that surrounded him and destroyed any lemure that touched it.

"So, the little priest is not without weapons or courage. That will make things more interesting." A cold evil, but beautiful voice purred from the entrance. The lemures abruptly disappeared and Helios saw the speaker to be none other than the leader of the Dead Moon, Queen Nehelenia.

"You!" he snarled with rage. "How dare you enter these sacred grounds and bring your filth with you!" his hands curled into fists at his side as he pinned her with a glare that could've pieced steel. Her eyes widened with surprise that quickly turned to delight. She raked her eyes up and down his body, avidly drinking in his appearance. Helios felt sick and fought the impulse to cover himself, feeling as if he were naked.

"Oh my, handsome too! I never expected that. Why don't you join me and become my lover and consort, Helios, high priest of Elysion?" she asked seductively, holding out a hand to him, sickening lust coloring her suffocating aura of hatred, vanity and malevolence. Bile rose in the back of his throat as the teen struggled to breathe normally.

"I'd kill myself before letting you touch me intimately, let alone become your lover and consort!" he spat back at her, a wickedly sharp naked sword appearing in his right hand. It was an espada ropera: a narrow, double-edged, tapered blade with one handed grip similar to a rapier or a straight saber, the cross-guard was utilitarian in shape and silver, the grip wrapped in plain black leather and the heavy pommel that was mostly tear shaped. He brought it up in a guard position, turned his body so that as little as possible was exposed and crouched slightly settling into a fighting stance.

"How dare you! I will make you love me!" Nehelenia screeched, infuriated with Helios' reaction. His sword tip came down slightly to point at her face, and the woman sub-consciously raised her hands and backed up a half pace.

"Why did you come here, Nehelenia?" Helios asked calmly and coldly, beginning to slowly circle her, searching for her weakness.

"That's _Queen_ Nehelenia to you, my soon-to-be slave! I am here for the Golden Crystal." Her shrill voice hurt his ears and he winced minutely as she pivoted to keep him in her sights.

"I don't know who it resides in, and even if I did I would never give it to you" Helios shouted angrily and feinted, making Nehelenia gasp in alarm and back up hastily.

"Oh, so it is inside someone. Thank you ever so much for that valuable piece of information, my dear." Nehelenia chuckled after she regained her composure while Helios silently called himself seven kinds of idiot for letting that slip. "Now, if it's a fight you seek, then that is what you'll get: Amazoness Quartet!"

"We are here Queen Nehelenia!" all four girls shouted as they faded into view. Helios started as he thought he recognized the auras of the four girls that was buried beneath the Dead Moon's evil power. This distracted him for a mere moment, but that was enough time for them to completely surround him.

_Crap_ Helios thought angrily, moving to get a wall behind him while keeping all of the girls in his sights, which was impossible, considering one was directly in front of him, two were to either side and the fourth was behind him.

"Take care of him, but don't kill or permanently damaged him." He heard Nehelenia tell them. The girls giggled and CereCere, who was in front of him, flung a flurry of flower petals at Helios, blinding him. The teen raised his left arm quickly to protect his eyes from the surprisingly sharp foliage flying at him. VesVes took advantage of his lack of sight to make her move.

Using her whip, she wrenched his sword from his hand, nearly dislocating his arm with the force of her pull. Helios groaned in pain, lowering his arm from his face to clutch his shoulder as the force of VesVes' yank spun his body towards the smirking redhead, who now held his sword tauntingly in one hand, which he could see perfectly now due to the flower petals disappearing.

A moment later a hard shod foot slammed between his shoulder blades driving a hoarse scream and his breath from him as he impacted harshly with the marble floor. He tasted coppery blood in his mouth from where his teeth had bitten through his inner lip. Wheezing and hissing in pain, Helios looked up as he used his arms to push his abused body off the cold stone. He saw a flash of green to his left as JunJun landed neatly, grinning triumphantly.

As Helios struggled to get his feet under him and refill his lungs, PallaPalla chirped one word from behind him. It sounded like 'control', but he wasn't sure. A moment later, he felt the very air harden around him and form hands that grabbed every part of his limbs and torso. The hands forced his body to sit on his knees, hands clasped behind his back, and torso bent at a 60° angle to the floor. The sensation of hands disappeared, but he found that he couldn't move anything save his lungs and from his neck up.

"Very impressive girls, you've been practicing." Nehelenia praised the four girls. They giggled happily and disappeared, leaving Helios and Nehelenia alone in the temple. Helios watched her warily as she circled around to stand in front of him, forcing him to crane his head up to look at her.

"My dear Helios, now that you are in a properly submissive position, I have a gift for you. But first…" Nehelenia purred and dropped gracefully to her knees before swooping in like a vulture, capturing his lips in hers. Repulsed, Helios tried to jerk away, but Nehelenia grabbed his head in her hands, preventing him from escaping. His eyes widened to their limit as bile rose in his throat, his sounds of revulsion and denial muffled by her cold lips.

He quickly clenched his teeth together and sealed his lips to prevent her from deepening it, trying to glare into her lust filled eyes, but knowing his eyes more showed his panic and nausea. She frowned at his lack of cooperation and moved her hands to the hinges of his jaw, finding the pressure points easily. As she dug her fingers into his flesh, Helios felt his muscles go numb then flaccid. Panic spiked within him as she pulled his mouth open. Helios squeezed his eyes shut in horror and fisted his hands, unable to stop her molestation.

He felt her slip her tongue past his lips to rape his mouth, leaving no part untouched. It sickened him how she suckled on his bleeding lip, drinking his spilt blood until it stopped bleeding. She then searched the rest of his mouth for more blood as her sharp teeth grazed his abused lips. The stricken priest felt the hot tears of shame and terror squeeze past his eyelids to run down his cheeks until the hit her hands.

He felt her smile against his mouth, obviously greatly pleased she had driven him to tears. Then he realized why she had focused so keenly on drinking his blood: as she continued to rape his mouth Helios felt her tap into his powers, something she could only do by virtue of having his blood in her.

_No! Oh Great Gods and Goddesses above, __**NO**__!_ Helios thought desperately as she stripped him of his power and strength, leaving him weak and helpless against her advances. As he weakened Nehelenia became bolder and let her cold hands roam freely across his face, hair, and upper body, causing Helios to flush in embarrassment and shudder in acute revulsion, even as his head spun due to the limited amount of air he was able to breathe in through his nose in comparison to his racing heart.

Wrapping her hands around him to grope his buttocks, the evil queen deliberately pressed her breasts against his chest, rubbing up and down slowly, causing Helios to gag weakly. She then pulled away much to the teen's relief, even though she continued to kiss him. But a moment later he realized why she pulled away as he blanched and made muffled sounds of protest. She ignored his protests and gripped him with both hands through his over-robe and pants. She squeezed and moved her hands along his length as Helios flushed and his insides clenched in abject disgust and fear. Finally Nehelenia stopped molesting him and pulled away, leaving only a trickle of his strength and power left. When her lips left his, Helios felt his head fall to his chest as he struggled to regain a semblance of strength and composure, his breathing ragged from oxygen deprivation.

"And now that you don't have enough strength left to reject it, here is my gift to you, Helios." She said and pulled out a golden, slender horn, rhombus based with four sides narrowing to a sharp point that had miniature black lightnings sprouting from the base of it. She grabbed his chin to keep him still and placed the horn on the center front of his head. The lightning instantly attached itself to his scalp, killing the hair there and anchoring the horn onto his head. Helios dimly realized PallaPalla's bonds disappeared when the first lightning touched him.

Helios screamed in agony as he felt the horn painfully become a part of him and staggered weakly backwards up to his feet before collapsing onto his side from the pain and disorientation, frantically trying to pull the horn off his head. However he couldn't even budge it and only succeeded in hurting himself more.

While he did this, he felt the horn's evil energy course throughout his body, blocking his drained powers, effectively making him helpless. As Helios lay on the cold marble floor, panting with exertion and moaning in pain as he continued to try to pull the evil thing off him, he heard Nehelenia speak.

"It's no use. That horn is now as much a part of you as an arm or eye. You can't remove it. And as you might have noticed, it also blocks your powers." She finished triumphantly and cackled shrilly. Helios lay on the floor exhausted, hot tears of pain, shame, anger and helplessness continuing to spill from his golden eyes.

"You should know Helios that I always get what I want and keep what I take." Nehelenia purred, and knelt down to caress his cheek with her cold hand. Helios could still taste her saliva in his mouth, making him want to vomit.

"And you should know that can no more own me than you can control my mind or heart." Helios shot back harshly in between his ragged breaths, shuddering in disgust from her evil, icy touch and his eyes blazing hate and anger. He moved away from her as quickly as he could force his weakened and drained body to, using his leaden arms to push him beyond her reach. Suddenly he felt himself being transported to what had to be Queen Nehelenia's throne room.

Looking at the ground, unnerved by how heavy and off balance his head was, Helios somehow found the strength to slowly push himself to his feet, noticing something else while at it. A quick glance down at his body confirmed it; he now wore nothing save his necklace and earrings. Self-consciously flushing a bright red, he attempted to cover himself as Nehelenia laughed delightedly and gazed at his exposed form eagerly. Preoccupied with his lack of clothing and her disturbing stare, Helios didn't see the spider webs coming at him until it was too late.

"Ahh!" Helios exclaimed, startled as he was wrapped in a cocoon of webs from his bellybutton to mid-thigh. _Well, at least I'm covered now._ Helios thought wryly as he was lifted smoothly and swiftly into a globe-shaped hanging cage to hang upside down and more webs attached themselves to his arms, wrists, knees and ankles. When the webs were done, he was in a position reminiscent to that of a diving bird. Craning his neck so that the back of his head nearly touched his back, Helios saw Nehelenia smirking at him. He snarled wordlessly at her in rage and fear. She simply laughed at him and disappeared.

Once he knew that she was truly gone, he dropped his defiant pose and began to look around for a way for him to escape, but found none. He tested the strength of the fibers binding him, but they simply tightened until he gave up. Looking inside himself for some means of escape, Helios discovered that the horn didn't block one ability of his: the ability to leave his physical body for short periods at a time. But it was useless in his situation unless he could find something or someone to hide his spirit in to escape Nehelenia.

For almost two hellish weeks he was trapped there, until a strong, soft pink light of a beautiful dream caught his eye through the gloom. Gathering himself up, Helios' soul broke free of his body, taking on the image of a horned Pegasus and flew towards the light, discovering the owner to be a beautiful, charming girl with pink hair, warm crimson eyes, and a beautiful, sincere smile.

_End Flashback_

* * *

**Bea here: ok for one thing I'm making these comments WAY after I completed the chapie, so bear with me ok?**

**I tried to make it not seem that Helios was a pathetic fighter, more the circumstances were against him, and I improved the last part a bit. Other than that, not much changed here. Please tell me what u think! Thanks so much ^^**

**HUGE shout out to FFX2player for his/her (umm, don't know the gender… .) review. It's thanks to him/her that I'm posting this chapter at all, because I thought people didn't like this story.**

**Ja ne!**


	7. Healing

**Bea here: okay my beta/muse has NOT edited this chapter, but she has given me permission to post it anyway. I will eventually be re-posting a beta-ed version, but not sure when. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 7: Healing

"…And then I met you and you know the rest." Helios concluded scrubbing his lips with the back of his right hand and shuddering in revulsion from the relived memory of Nehelenia's tongue raping his mouth and her evil hands roaming his body. He hoped that his lovely maiden would not notice the shamed tears threatening to fall from his eyes

"Oh, Helios, I'm sorry." Moon exclaimed softly and sincerely, laying her right hand gently on his left hand, which was clenching his left pant leg so tightly that his hand was white, trying to catch his down turned eyes which were hiding under his bangs. Those amber eyes, which glistened with tears he refused to shed, shot up to stare at her in puzzlement.

"Why are you sorry, my Maiden? It wasn't you who did this." He asked, trying to focus on anything but the agonizing memories that flooded his mind. He could help but notice that his hand was twitching under hers and panic was bubbling up inside him from her gentle touch. _Why can't I let her even touch me without my body feeling that damn witch's cold hands instead?_ Helios railed in his mind.

"I'm sorry because you had to go through that torturous, humiliating and repulsive experience." She replied softly, lightly brushing a stray lock of hair away from his face, not missing his hastily suppressed wince.

"It is okay, Sailor Moon, I'm fine. We should go defeat Nehelenia now." Helios said attempting to rise, but Moon shook her head grabbing his sleeve to keep him down, feeling her heart constrict at her beloved's involuntary shudder.

"Liar." She said gently but firmly. She looked squarely at him, while he avoided her gaze, a blush of humiliation staining his cheeks crimson. "I know that you have been scarred deeply by Nehelenia's actions. If you try to confront her like you are now, she will destroy you completely by using your memories and feelings against you in battle." She continued, forcing him to face and accept the truth.

"Then what can I do to save everyone?!" He whispered in despair, bringing his trembling hands up to cover his tear filled eyes, as if to physically block the images hovering in his mind's eye. "They're lives are in peril and I can't do a single damn thing to help them because of _her_!" He hissed angrily, hoping that anger would cover his helplessness. Moon bit her lip in thought, looking up at the tortured and hunched form of the young man she loved, feeling her heart rip at the painful sight of him so utterly broken.

"Helios." She hesitantly placed her gloved hand on his shoulder, removing it quickly when he recoiled violently. She knew that he was dangerously close to a mental and physical collapse due to the memories he had to relive in order to tell her what happened. The pink haired senshi felt guilt flood her for selfishly asking him to tell her of his past, not even realizing how much it would damage him.

He looked up quickly even as he drew back, tear burning tracks down his face. "I'm sorry my maiden." He whispered, shame and loathing for himself and his reactions to the touch of the one he loved revealed in his amber eyes. "I can't stop it, the memories…they're suffocating me. I can't even breathe without reliving that time." He continued in such a low whisper that Moon had to strain to catch it. Unable to bear seeing him so broken and defeated, Moon decided to go ahead and tell him the option she was thinking of. _And I hope that if he rejects it, it won't break my heart._ She thought with a pang as she hesitantly cleared her throat to recapture his attention.

"…I can help you, Helios…if you can and will allow me to." She offered tentatively, looking into his eyes. Hope flickered briefly in those golden orbs and she continued, "I can heal your emotional scars and dull the memories with my Crystal." She waited with baited breath for his answer.

"How?" he whispered hoarsely, daring to believe her, to hope.

"By using the same channels Nehelenia did while activating my Crystal's healing powers." Helios blanched and his hands gripped his pants even tighter at the first part of her sentence, but he held his tongue, striving to trust her. "I can heal your raped soul Helios." She stated softly but firmly, her beautiful crimson eyes capturing his amber ones even as tears made them sparkle like rubies. _Will he let me heal his scars and show him my love? Will he be __**able**__ to?_ Chibiusa thought anxiously, her heart in her throat. He visible braced himself, drawing in a shuddering breath as he thought about it.

"You…You would do this for me, my Maiden?" Helios finally asked as his heart began to race at the prospect of having her do the same thing Nehelenia did, but to heal him. His body and instincts screamed at him not to, to run and hide from it all, but his heart and soul said to trust her and love her.

"Yes, although I'll need to power up to my royal persona in order to have that much control over my powers." Her words barely registered to his ears as he fought to find the love, trust and courage he needed to be able to go through with her plan. Straightening his shoulders resolutely, the teen looked up into his maiden's innocent, loving and trusting eyes and knew that this was the right decision.

"Then please, heal me…beloved." Helios said quietly as Moon smiled blindingly at him, joy radiating off her in waves, warming and heartening him. She stood and shifted into Small Lady Serenity as he slowly climbed to his feet.

"As you wish…my love." Serenity said lovingly and opened her arms. He hesitantly walked into them, folding his arms slowly around her. Serenity started to glow a soft pink as she activated her crystal's powers, gently and slowly closing her arms around him as to not cause him to panic.

Communicating with him by eye contact alone, Serenity instructed Helios to take the dominant role. Licking his pale lips nervously, the youth hesitantly brought a shaking hand up to tilt her chin up. Angling his head Helios slowly forced himself to bend down, fighting the spiraling panic in his mind.

Serenity let her ruby eyes slide shut as he came nearer to her soft lips. Steeling himself, Helios tentatively brushed her lips with his own. The warmth from her radiated into him, and he gentled pressed his lips against hers, reveling in the joyous feeling of kissing his maiden. But just as he let his hands lower to rest on her shoulders, something dark and twisted reared its ugly head in the back of his mind.

In a flash, he was no longer kissing the warm soft lips of Serenity but being molested by Nehelenia's cold hungry ones. He saw in his mind her sadistic smile and slitted eyes, felt her hands roaming his body…

With a strangled gasp, Helios broke the contact and pulled back hastily, feeling his whole body go ridged. Serenity immediately dropped her arms from around him and opened her eyes. She had been pushed back by Helios, whose arms had involuntarily straightened out, his hands clutching her shoulders in a near death grip. Serenity winced at the painful pressure.

Helios, who had been hanging his head and shaking it violently to rid himself of something only he could see, looked up just in time to see her grimace. Realizing the strength of his hold, he gasped and immediately relaxed his white knuckled hands, though he had to force himself to not drop them altogether, as his body was screaming at him to do.

"I-I can't do it Serenity, I'm sorry. When I kissed you, I started to relive that whole experience anew." The young man gasped brokenly, a few tears falling from his eyes, which were twin pools of guilt riddled amber. She could see that he was fighting a rapidly losing battle against his panic and memories. A moment later she couldn't see them at all as he lowered his head and his bangs dropped down to cover those amber orbs.

Serenity bit her lip, silently ordering her own tears of hurt and sympathy not to fall, as she knew that would just make him feel worse. Looking at him, she slowly constructed a warm pink shield around the two of them.

When she was finished, Helios couldn't tell that he was in Nehelenia's throne room anymore. Rather it looked as if he was floating in a pink cloud, and it was as warm as a perfect summer day in Elysion. Slowly he felt his body relaxing at the 'change' in setting. Gathering his courage he raised his head to look into his maiden's eyes to see them sparkling with tears she refused to shed. Her hands were hanging limply by her sides, and she was not trying to make any contact at all, for which he was grateful.

"Helios," her soft voice called his attention back to her face. "You must fight your memory and your body. You must open yourself to me, that's the only way I can heal you. Trust me, please, you know I love you and would never hurt you." Serenity pled, her voice getting choked up on the last syllable as her chest heaved with her effort not to cry. Tears blurred her vision as her heart constricted, knowing the near impossibility of her request. But she had spoke the truth when she said it was the only way.

"Serenity," Helios murmured, her raw emotions touching his heart and somehow calming him. "I trust you with my life, heart and soul." The white haired youth stated firmly and gently pulled her into a light embrace, though his body tensed immediately. Ignoring his involuntary reaction, Helios lowed his head once more and softly pressed his lips to Serenity's, his heart hammering in his chest.

With his hands clasped around her slim waist, the priest resolutely ignored the memories forcing him to relive Nehelenia's molestation, instead concentrating on the soft pink world around him and his beautiful maiden's face in front of his eyes. The tip of his nose brushed again her velveteen cheek and she sighed in pleasure as her ruby eyes slowly fluttered shut, prompting Helios' to slowly close.

Now his attention was focused solely on the warm, soft lips below his. Slowly, Helios slid his tongue out to lick her full lower lip, asking shyly for entrance. He could feel Serenity's smile of happiness and approval as she slowly but eagerly complied. Even as he pushed his questing tongue past her teeth, Helios struggled to open his soul to his beloved.

The memory of Nehelenia raping his mouth haunted him, but Helios merely clenched his fists and moaned in emotional distress. The priest searched though his mind to locate his bond with the pink haired angel in front of him. Finding it, Helios used it as a channel to her, giving her an open door into his traumatized and scarred mind.

Her spirit flowed into him gently and lovingly, filling him with her innocent love and power. As she turned her attention to building a temporary wall between him and his memories so she could heal him, Helios felt his soul become curiously detached from his body. He was still aware of what he was doing, still felt everything, but he felt more like an observer than the one in control.

But that didn't seem to matter to his body, which had developed a mind of its own. Even as he felt Serenity's soothing presence in mind, healing him, Helios saw and felt his body take things further, much further. His tongue explored his maiden's sweet mouth, tentatively at first then boldly, claiming her mouth as his.

Her tongue wasn't still either; as soon as he became daring in his explorations, she snuck her own small tongue into his mouth. The nimble appendage massaged his tongue and ran over his teeth. Feeling a slow heat crawling through his body, the white haired teen groaned quietly into Serenity's mouth, withdrawing his tongue to suckle her now swollen lower lip.

Her fingers were tracing absent minded swirls on his chest, tangling in the tassels. Her hands mapped out his pectorals and abs, sending shivers and raising goose bumps where her slim fingers passed over his abruptly tense muscles. His own hands had slid down her arms, pushing the frilly sleeves off her shoulders in the process.

He let his hands trail down to her elbows before spanning her small waist. He ran his hands up and down her torso, tracing her every curve. Inside his mind, Helios saw that she was using her power on his memories like water on jagged rocks: dulling and distancing them.

As his hands ran over the curve of her back and butt, Helios tightened his grip on her, pulling her soft body flush with his, the heat within him flaring at the feel of her young breasts. Her hands were currently tracing the muscles of his back, sending delicious shivers of pleasure down his spine.

In his mind he felt her finishing, even as her small hands grasped his behind and heard her soft moans of pleasure muffled by his lips. Helios realized that he was completely at ease and had been for some time, even as he shyly snuck a hand in between their bodies to cup her breast lightly, his other hand gently gripping one of her neither cheeks.

Feeling her finish and her tired triumph, Helios lovingly 'lifted' her spirit back into her own body. He felt her gratitude even as he came back fully to himself. He gently broke the kiss, both of them drawing back slightly to fill their oxygen deprived lungs. Probing his newly healed memories, the white-haired teen found that he could still feel and recall them. But it was as though he were reading a well-written book: able to see and feel what is happening, but able to close it and put it back on its shelf.

Pulling away a little more Helios opened his eyes in time to see Serenity doing the same. Her face was flushed and her lips red and swollen, and Helios was sure his face probably look similar. It was then that the priest realized he still had his hands on her breast and butt, while hers were gripping his butt cheeks. He blushed as did she, but only disentangled themselves after a second of just gazing into each others' eyes.

"Serenity, thank you… for everything. But now we must go and defeat Nehelenia." He stated quietly holding her hands gently in his. His maiden nodded, allowing the shield she had erected to disappear.

"Yes, my senshi probably could probably really use some help right about now." Serenity said then glanced at Helios. "Um, can you get us out of here now that you are fully healed and have all your strength and powers back? I don't know how to." She admitted blushing cutely. Helios surprised himself and her with a small confident grin.

"Yes I can. But first let me change into something a little more suited to battle." Helios said, stepping out of Serenity's arms and closing his eyes. Almost immediately his over robe became a sleeveless waist length tunic over which light metal-like breast and back plates formed.

His pants became virtually skin tight as metal-like bracers and greaves materialized and his white shoes became calf length boots. Lastly a sword belt came into being around his waist with his rapier resting on his left side in its sheath and his necklace disappeared. Opening his eyes he grinned briefly at Serenity. She nodded appreciatively at his new ensemble and reverted to Sailor Moon.

"Great outfit, Helios, now how are we getting out of here?" She asked, sneaking an appreciative gaze at the priest's clothes change and how it showed off his muscular body. As Helios glanced around the room she was presented with a nice view of his ass, covered only by those tight pants.

"We will fly on Pegasus." Helios replied and whistled shrilly for a moment. The magnificent white creature appeared in front of them wearing only a halter and reins (AN: Pegasus doesn't have a horn). He mounted agilely onto his back and extended a hand down to help the pink haired senshi up. Sailor Moon slipped her hand in his, watching his arms muscle tighten as he helped her mount up behind him. Moon wrapped her arms around Helios' armored torso as Pegasus launched them into the air.

"Helios, I've got a plan on how to defeat Nehelenia," Moon outlined her plan as they gained speed and altitude, Helios flung out a hand, opening a portal that they flew through.

* * *

**Bea here: ok, definitely lengthened this one quite a bit, maybe even doubled it but oh well. I also got things a bit more heated and in depth with the healing, but nothing past lemony scented.**

**Hope I haven't scarred u for life. And if u were disappointed that I didn't let them go farther please read my sequel to this story: 'The Perfect Night'. ^^**

**Ja ne!**

**Okay, note. I know I said that I wasn't going to put anymore of this story on b/c no one seemed interested in it, but I just hate leaving a story incomplete online when I finally got it all done. So screw it, I'm posting the rest and I could care less what people think and whether or not they're decent enough to leave a review.**

**Ok done with my teenage rampage so to speak. I'm just frustrated, I didn't get accepted into OSU b/c I haven't completed the writing course here at EWU, so I've got to take it and apply for extended admission into OSU. But on a good note, my karate sensei is going to teach me how to drive! He's starting tomorrow, and I think he's nervous lol ^^**


	8. Battle

**Bea here: okay my beta/muse has NOT edited this chapter, but she has given me permission to post it anyway. I will eventually be re-posting a beta-ed version, but not sure when. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 8: Battle

Elsewhere in the labyrinth like tent, the senshi were playing a dangerous game of hide-n-seek with Nehelenia. They would quickly group together, attack her, run away into the shadows, meet to strategize, then repeat the process. This had been continuing since Nehelenia had shown up and they were injured, tired and desperate. They had just met up again when their luck ran completely out as Nehelenia found them.

Smirking evilly, she held her right hand palm out down at the battered group of girls, a small golden ball of energy forming in the center of her hand. Mercury bit her lip as she quickly scanned the orb with her goggles. _If that hits us, even if Saturn uses her Silence Wall, we'll all be disintegrated._ The ice senshi thought as Nehelenia suddenly frowned and the orb faded as the witch apparently felt a strange energy. Mercury looked in the direction the queen's gaze was aimed at as the other senshi briefly looked at each other in confusion before copying Mercury.

"A portal's opening." Mars stated, feeling the aura at the same time Mercury's goggles analyzed.

"There's something coming through!" Uranus exclaimed, pointing to the small white shape that had just flown in.

The ice senshi nodded absently and increased the zoom on her goggles, getting a better look at it as the portal closed. She saw that the shape was a Pegasus with two riders.

"It's Sailor Moon and Helios!" the bluenette said as the rest of the senshi cheered shortly. Mercury returned her goggle's zoom to normal as the Pegasus spiraled tightly downward at the priest's directions. It back-winged and landed smartly in front of the girls as Venus snuck a glance at the queen in front of them.

Nehelenia was slack jawed with what looked like shock. She was now standing on her platform instead of lounging on the couch like she had been. She stared down disbelievingly at the pair as the lightly dismounted.

"No, you're dead! I killed you!" she screeched as Pegasus disappeared. Sailor Moon walked a few steps forward to glare up at the woman who had scarred her beloved so much. Helios sidestepped in front of the pink haired senshi, a coldly furious, yet curiously calm, expression on his face.

"You should never have underestimated the power of Sailor Moon's love, Crystal, or determination, Nehelenia. For she was able to bring me back from the dead and heal me completely." Helios responded coolly and contemptuously. "And now that your evil magic is no longer in me, I can use my powers again!" he finished and shot a fiery ball of magic at Nehelenia's throne.

The evil witch gasped and leapt off just in time. She landed heavily about a dozen meters from Moon and crew. It looked like she had twisted her ankle before her encumbering skirts threw her balance off and she collapsed to the ground.

"I'll hold her off while you explain." Helios said in an undertone, reaching for his sword. Moon placed her hand on his, which was now wrapped around the hilt of his sword.

"Be careful, my love." Crimson eyes looked up into amber. Helios smiled reassuringly and nodded. Moon removed her hand and his smile disappeared as Helios drew his blade and advanced quickly on the still recovering queen, who was now on her feet and looked to be healing her ankle.

Sailor Moon resisted the urge to watch and turn to face her senshi. They looked immensely relieved to see her and impressed by the now armored priest.

"Whoa, Sailor Moon, I like your boyfriend's outfit." Jupiter grinned. Moon blushed briefly.

"Thanks. Okay, hold still for a moment." She ordered as she opened her brooch to reveal her crystal. She let its soft pink light bathe all eight girls for a few seconds, healing them and reviving their energy.

"Sailor Moon I—" Pluto began but Moon's upraised hand but her off.

"I know what I'm doing, Pluto. Now listen closely." The pink haired senshi outlined her plan and the senshi's part in it. They nodded reluctantly.

"Couldn't just half of us go? We need to be here to protect you." Neptune protested.

"No. it will take all of you to do this." Mercury nodded confirmation to the pink haired senshi's statement. "Besides, I'll be fine." The younger teen gestured to where Helios and Nehelenia were. The priest had just rushed the evil woman, who shrieked, dodged his blade and hastily fired a black ball of lightning at Helios, who swiftly brought up a magic shield to absorb the attack.

"I guess you're right." Uranus chuckled.

"Let's go girls." Venus commanded. Moon nodded and ran over to where Helios was as the senshi teleporting away behind her. The pink haired warrior skidded to a stop beside her beloved who spared a quick grin for her.

"Come to join the fun?" he murmured, his tenor voice making Moon's heart race.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." She replied in kind. "Moon Tiara Action!" she continued, throwing the disk of light behind her, destroying the webs that had been sneaking up on the pair. She then pulled out her Moon Kaleidoscope. Helios nodded and advanced communicating silently that he'd keep Nehelenia occupied while Sailor Moon powered up her attack.

Helios stepped closer to his former captor, ever alert and in a proper fighting stance. Adrenaline and power sang through his veins, giving him the strength and endurance he didn't have any more. _Well, being tied up for weeks tends to do that to a body, especially when the majority of that time the person's soul wasn't there._ Helios thought wryly, careful not to let any sign of his weakness show. He saw Nehelenia look at what his maiden was doing and noticed her eyes dilating slightly.

"Come to me my loyal servants, my lemures!" she called into the darkness. The sinister black spheres with their glowing red eyes eagerly answered her call, swarming the two heroes.

"Sailor Moon!" Helios heard himself exclaim seeing the surprise and fear on his maiden's face, even as he brought up a spherical shield to protect himself. But Moon was ready for them; her attack was fully charged and she unleashed it, spinning rapidly to destroy all the evil being surrounding her. The waves reached him, but didn't harm him in any way.

Seeing that she was taking care of herself, the priest turned his attention back to his own predicament. Readying the spell in his mind, Helios shifted his grip on his sword and knelt quickly, burying the tip of the now brightly glowing bade into the ground at his feet. His shield instantly became cylindrical in shape and exploded outwards, destroying every lemure within a fifty meter radius. Breathing just a little heavily, Helios stood back up, feeling the sweat beading up on his forehead. From the corner of his eyes, the teen saw that Moon was now running towards him, quickly closing the ten meter distance.

They turned to be back-to-back and readied themselves for their nemesis' next attack. Helios was facing the witch at the moment so he could see her expression turn from outrage and fear to one of craftiness and cruelty. The teen felt his heart drop into his shoes and himself grow cold at the horribly familiar glint in her strange eyes.

"Very nice show of power…for a little girl and priest playing dress-up." She purred and laughed throatily. "But even if you have your powers back and a wannabe senshi by your side, Helios, you can't even try to defeat me when I do…this!" the evil queen shaped her powers like a spear tip and dove into Helios' mind.

The youth screamed and dropped to the ground on his knees, his sword clattering beside him. He fought to keep her out, but she had all the force of the Golden Crystal at her disposal and took full advantage of that fact.

_You know, if you didn't fight me, this wouldn't hurt, my pet._ Nehelenia's voice echoed inside his head as she steadily tore through every shield and barrier he put up in his mind. Helios felt a bolt of fear course throughout his body as she broke the final barrier and cast her spell. The spell captured his mind in a vice-like grip, tearing another scream from his lips as he clutched his head.

Nehelenia left his mind with a delighted laugh as her curse took effect. It brought up the memories of when Nehelenia had molested him and forced him to relive it endlessly, putting a twist on it to trap him within the memories.

Sailor Moon gasped and whirled as she heard Nehelenia speak. Even as she did this she saw a beam of black energy hit her beloved's head, heard him scream in agony and sink to the ground, clutching his head. She dropped next to him her hands hovering above his hunched shoulders.

Looking at his twisted face, Moon gazed at Helios' face anxiously. She faintly heard Nehelenia evil laughter, but was more concerned by the way Helios started to curl in on himself, moaning brokenly.

"Helios!" the pink haired girl called, lowering her hands to gently shake his trembling shoulders.

"It's no use, moon brat." the witch in front of her said, making worried ruby orbs look up. "That spell I just cast has trapped him in his most painful memories, sentencing him to relive that endlessly." She crowed her laughter as Moon's heart pounded. _She means that time she molested him!_ _ But I know he can beat it, I healed him._ She thought, glancing at her beloved from the corner of her eye. Sure enough, when she placed her hand on her brooch, she could see a soft pink light haloing his head. She turned back to Nehelenia and smirked confidently.

"I don't think so, you witch."

_Cold, ravenous lips suckled his bleeding inner lip hungrily as sharp nails stroked his face possessively and panic and revulsion spiraled up out of control within his mind. Bile rose in his throat, making gag as her tongue plundered his defenseless mouth…_Helios moaned in his mind at the merciless onslaught, but then a pink glow settled on him like a ray of sunshine. The memories flickered and faded like a TV with a bad connection, allowing Helios to wrench himself away from them and break the curse Nehelenia had cast.

"I don't think so, you witch." His sweet maiden's voice rang out confidently as he came back to himself. He felt his trembling stop and her hands gently squeezing his shoulders before removed them and she rose. Drawing in a deep breath Helios opened his eyes and lowered his fingers from his temples as he looked up into Nehelenia's shocked eyes.

The priest smirked mockingly and stood up smoothly, scooping up the hilt of his sword in his right hand while he was at it. His smile became steely as he raised the tip of his sword to point at the evil queen, who now wore a look of confused frustration. She screamed incoherently in rage but stopped when he spoke.

"I told you before, Nehelenia, that Moon healed me completely." His tenor voice rang out clearly as the lemures in the shadows shifted restless, sensing their mistress' emotions. Those strange eyes of hers glittered with cruelty as she forced herself to calm down.

"So I see the little princess protects her new boyfriend well." The queen stated scathingly. "But can she protect you and her from herself?" with no more warning than that, Nehelenia pointed her finger at Sailor Moon, smiling wickedly.

A sense of foreboding flooded the senshi a split second before the witch overcame her mental barriers and invaded her mind.

"No! Damn you Nehelenia!" Moon heard Helios shout dimly over her pained scream and his arms wrapping around her as her legs failed her.

Fear and rage burned their way through Helios, as he sunk to his knees once more, this time cradling his maiden's slender frame to his armored chest, his sword again on the ground beside him. _Oh Gods she must be doing the same thing to Chibiusa as she did to me!_ He thought as she whimpered in fear and pain. In front of him Nehelenia let out a peal of delighted laughter.

"Oh this is delightful! Who knew such a perfect angel could have done this?" she asked derisively as Helios saw Moon's red eyes fly open in anger and shame. She opened her mouth, but Nehelenia cut her off before she could speak.

"Little priest see your 'beloved' for who she really is!" Helios saw the shame and fear spike in his maiden's eyes, as horror joined them. The next second he felt Nehelenia seize his mind and tie him and Moon into another memory trap. But this one was of Moon's memories and both of them were observers.

_NO!_ Chibiusa thought despairingly as the witch dragged up her memories of when the Wiseman had brainwashed her and transformed her into Black Lady. She was forced to watch what she did to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen with sickening clarity.

She saw that Helios was watching the carnage and pain she had caused at the time and felt the tears of shame and heartbreak spill from her eyes. She could see the shock on his face clearly and turned away before his revulsion and condemnation showed itself.

Choking on a sob, she 'ran' away to the inner recesses of her mind, Nehelenia's cackles of glee followed her.

"Maiden, wait!" she heard Helios shout and his footfalls as he chased after her. _I'm not your maiden, Helios. How could I be, with such hideous sins weighing upon me? I don't deserve your love. _ She thought as she sped up, tears flying from her cheeks.

"Maiden!" Helios called again as she ran away from him. He followed, the images of Black Lady's attack on his prince and his beloved haunting him. _That wasn't her fault!_ He thought fiercely. One of her tears hit his upraised hand as he dashed after her, making his heart contract painfully. _She must be blaming herself for what happened._

"Chibiusa-chan!" her name fell from his lips before he realized it. Ahead Moon hesitated briefly, enough for Helios to grab her elbow and spin her around.

"Let me go!" her shaking voice rose as she struggled to escape. Helios simply folded his arms around her and sank down to sit cross-legged, pulling her into his lap.

"No." he replied simply.

"But I did those horrible things to those I love! I'm a monster and I must revolt you." Her broken sobs cut him to the quick and he brushed his lips against the crown of her head as she buried her face in his chest plate.

"You don't revolt me, Chibiusa." He told her gently blocking out everything but his shaking maiden.

"But it was my fault that my future parents went though that. I almost destroyed the world!" she sobbed hysterically, shaking her head back and forth.

"That wasn't your fault Chibiusa!" Helios stated quietly but fiercely, willing her to believe him. "Mamoru was brainwashed by Beryl and nearly killed Sailor Moon, but she didn't hold it against him, nor did he run from her because of what Beryl made his body do!" As he continued to speak, Helios used his own powers to calm her raging emotions and ease the pain of her memories, knowing that most of her thinking was due to Nehelenia's curse. After a minute or two Chibiusa sniffed and raised her head to look into his eyes.

"Most of that was Nehelenia's doing wasn't it?" she asked. Helios nodded, smiling gently. "Thank you Helios." She said and hugged him. Helios whispered a 'you're welcome' and stood, managing to get her onto her feet as well. With a push of his powers, Helios dissolved the curse and they both opened their eyes to find that they were back in the tent, still hugging and Nehelenia growling in irritation.

"You will not defeat us so easily you witch." Moon said as both she and Helios retrieved their weapons. They stood shoulder to shoulder, facing down their nemesis.

"Do you really think you can defeat me?!" she hissed malevolently. "I possess the Golden Crystal!" she then combined the Golden Crystal and a broadsword that she had conjured into being together. Nehelenia then aimed a powerful arc of gold-laced black lightning from the blade of the sword at the couple.

The priest shoved Moon out of harms' way as he slammed a shield into being, but the dark queen's attacked ripped through it easily. Helios screamed in agony as the energy crackled through his body and sent him flying back roughly five meters away, his sword falling from spasming fingers. He crashed onto his back, his head smacking against the unforgiving ground, and lay there immobile. Nehelenia strode forward and raised her sword to run it through the priest.

"Helios, no!" Moon screamed from where she had sprawled on the floor and scrabbled to her feet. The pink haired senshi shot a flurry of roses at Nehelenia, who's sword was descending rapidly about to bury itself in Helios' chest. Not expecting the attack, Nehelenia was peppered with the sharp projectiles. She hastily backed away from Helios and removed the roses as Moon ran up and knelt by him, keeping an eye on her enemy.

"How dare you?! You'll pay for that, you little bitch!" Nehelenia seethed after pulling the thorny stems from her body and fired a massive bolt of lightning at them. Moon grabbed Helios around his chest and launched them both six meters into the air, avoiding the blast. She thought of something and, as they came down, she fired another volley of roses at Nehelenia, testing her guess. Nehelenia threw up a shield this time but the roses only slowed marginally before passing through the shield as if it didn't exist to embed themselves into Nehelenia's torso. "What the hell? How can this be?!" Nehelenia shrieked as Moon grinned and thought _I was right_.

"My future dad leant me his ability to throw roses, and since you are now mainly using his crystal and soul to shield yourself, well the shield won't shield you from itself now will it?" Moon asked facetiously, gesturing to the sword in Nehelenia's hand as she supported a rapidly recovering Helios. Helios shook his head slightly to clear it as Nehelenia stared at her in confusion.

"What? The man whom I stole this from is your future father? Then you should not exist right now!" Nehelenia said and Moon smirked.

"Someone is keeping his body alive, thus me. Now give me his crystal!" Moon shouted as Helios stepped away from her and fetched his sword from where it lay on the floor. Helios then joined hands with Moon and the twosome charged Nehelenia. Due to their connections to the Golden Crystal, neither of them were stopped or harmed by Nehelenia's shield.

This distracted Nehelenia, giving Moon the chance she needed to snatch Nehelenia's sword from her and as Nehelenia turned to face Moon, Helios rammed his sword in her gut. He quickly slid his blade from her body and stepped back, knowing that she would now have to heal herself, which would give them the time they needed.

The two leapt back three meters and switched swords. Helios cleansed the Golden Crystal, destroying Nehelenia's sword in the process, as Moon held Helios' sword and readied the Moon Kaleidoscope. Helios then sent the Golden Crystal, along with his prince's soul, back to Mamoru's body and accepted his sword back from Moon and the two waited, hand in hand, for their plan to work and Nehelenia to recover.

* * *

Usagi was lying beside Mamoru in bed, hugging him tightly, when the senshi abruptly faded into view.

"Everyone!" she gasped from surprise then pain as yet another powerful spasm hit her. Since she had bound Mamoru's body to hers, she had been experiencing her pain and his. "Wha—ahh!" she started then screamed as another spasm tore through her body, tears of pain streaming down her twisted face. The senshi knew what she was asking about so Venus replied for them.

"Usagi, Moon and Helios are recovering the Golden Crystal as we speak. Sailor Moon told us to teleport the two of you to Nehelenia's throne room to defeat her once the Golden Crystal is returned to Mamoru."

"How…" Usagi gasped out. Mercury evidently guessed what Usagi was asking about and replied.

"We will lend our strength once we arrive so you two will be able to fight." Usagi nodded in understanding then gasped as Mamoru's previously limp body stiffened abruptly. Locking her eyes on his chest, Usagi watched as the Golden Crystal appeared and sank into his body. She gently broke their soul/body connection and looked up into her beloved face as Mamoru opened his midnight blue eyes.

"Usako…thanks…" he said and embraced her small frame weakly. The two of them then let the senshi haul them out of bed and to their feet painfully. Mamoru, having read Usagi's thoughts, didn't question why the girls were doing this. Each senshi then placed one hand on either Usagi or Mamoru, to help keep them upright as much as to teleport them, and the whole group teleported to Nehelenia's throne room.

* * *

**Bea here: expanded the fight scene, and the attempted spell scene. I like how I had Helios react to Chibiusa's past, but what do u think? Please leave a review and tell me, or anything else u want me know! ^^**

**Thanks**

**Ja ne!**


	9. Nehelenia’s Last

**Bea here: okay my beta/muse has NOT edited this chapter, but she has given me permission to post it anyway. I will eventually be re-posting a beta-ed version, but not sure when. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 9: Nehelenia's Last

The group faded into the dark room to see Moon and Helios teaming up against Nehelenia. Helios was using his blade and magic, while Moon used her roses and Moon Kaleidoscope. She would use her "Moon Gorgeous Meditation" against Nehelenia, who would block the attack, but blocking the attack used a considerable amount of her rapidly dwindling power to do so. Nehelenia was clearly on to the defensive, never having time enough to attack as she was constantly having to heal herself and block attacks. Moon and Helios spared a glance at the group as Usagi and Mamoru struggled to henshin in order to use their crystals.

"Everyone… please… lend us… your… strength." Usagi gasped out, grabbing Mamoru's hand. Each senshi then shouted:

"I call upon the power of my home, Mariner Castle. Mercury Power!"

"I call upon the power of my home, Magellan Castle. Venus Power!"

"I call upon the power of my home, Phobos-Deimos Castle. Mars Power!"

"I call upon the power of my home, Io Castle. Jupiter Power!"

"I call upon the power of my home, Titan Castle. Saturn Power!"

"I call upon the power of my home, Miranda Castle. Uranus Power!"

"I call upon the power of my home, Triton Castle. Neptune Power!"

"I call upon the power of my home, Charon Castle. Pluto Power!"

Helios and Moon were protecting the group, but Helios saw that they needed more power.

"Moon, they need your strength too! Don't worry about me, I can hold off Nehelenia."

"Right." She said and ran over to them shouting, "I call upon the power of my future home, Crystal Palace. Moon Power!" Helios turned back to face Nehelenia as all of the senshi henshined into their eternal forms and lent their powers to Usagi and Mamoru so they could power up to Eternal Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. Moon reverted to Chibimoon when she powered up to eternal.

Helios then saw that Nehelenia had finally recovered so he ran at her raising his sword to a strike position. Instead of trying to dodge his blade as she had done before, Nehelenia let Helios plunge his sword into her heart, gritting her teeth and gasping in pain. But then she grabbed his face and forced her lips on his. Helios, realizing in an instant what she was doing, frantically pulled back, realizing the hilt of his sword, but it was too late. Nehelenia used the massive amount of energy generated by her body's death to cast her soul into Helios' body.

Helios screamed and dropped to the floor from the incredible pain of her soul's invasion, fighting to repeal her evil soul. However, Nehelenia still had remnants of the Golden Crystal's power and an incredible amount of death magic to work with and used it to trap Helios' soul in a remote corner of his mind and take over his body. She cruelly allowed him to still see and hear everything that his body did.

The whole fight lasted about fifteen seconds. _No! Damn you Nehelenia!_ Helios shouted mentally at her and lashed out against his prison, accomplishing nothing save tiring himself.

_Just sit tight and enjoy the show sweetheart._ Nehelenia purred cruelly and laughed silently in anticipation as she heard Chibimoon run up to him.

* * *

Eternal Sailor Chibimoon spun in panic when she heard Helios' cry. She saw him clutch his head, his face twisted in pain and then drop to all fours, gasping for breath.

Helios, are you okay?" she shouted anxiously while running over to him, knowing that her part was finished. Her double skirts rustled softly as she knelt in front of his bowed head. His breathing had improved though she couldn't see his face because his curly white locks obscured it. She gently shook his shoulder and repeated her question. Helios leaned back onto his feet, still keeping his head bowed, and reached up with his left hand to place it on her right shoulder in reassurance. Or so she thought.

_Get your hands off of her you bitch!_ Helios shouted mentally, furious with himself for playing straight into the queen's hands.

_Such language from a priest. I'm shocked! And it is _your_ hands on her not mine. Now be a good little slave and watch as I destroy the senshi and your 'prince', starting with the one you love most!_ Nehelenia thought back viciously and, using Helios' vocal chords, chuckled quietly. Helios turned his attention to what was happening his heart constricting and breath catching in his throat at what the witch controlling him would do to his Maiden.

"Helios?" Chibimoon asked, concerned as she noticed that Nehelenia's dead body lay nearby, the priest's sword still stuck in the corpse's chest. Helios then chuckled softly and she looked back at her love to see him finally raise his head. She inhaled sharply in horror and heartbreak as she saw his face. His forehead drop had turned pitch black, and his face was twisted into a sadistic smile. And his eyes… those warm luminous golden eyes were now slitted like Nehelenia's. Hate and triumph filled golden eyes glinted while silver-blue pupils narrowed slightly.

Even as she realized intuitively what had happened to him, she felt him surge to his feet forcing her up as well. Before she could scream, Chibimoon felt Nehelenia spin her around using her right shoulder as a pivot point and slipping her neck into the crook of his left arm, neatly cutting off almost all of her air and positioning her as a shield against the senshi at the same time. Nehelenia then called up webs to bind Chibimoon's legs together and arms at her sides, preventing her from escaping him.

"Helios! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Tuxedo Kamen yelled at him as he and the girls spotted her. His voice was hoarse still from the pain that surged through his body though he was able to fight, as was Moon.

"We trusted you!" Mars said angrily, stepping forward aggressively, her white stiletto boots striking the ground for emphasis.

"It's not… ugh…his fault!" Chibimoon choked out, hot silent tears of anguish for Helios' trapped soul falling freely from her crimson eyes. His arm brace was cold against the right side of her neck while his warm, hard muscles pressed into her left side.

"Earth to Chibimoon, he's trying to kill you!" Jupiter pointed out gesturing to the curiously evil looking armored priest, even as the other senshi closed ranks to protect their princess from further harm.

"I know you lo―like him but come on!" Venus added as Uranus and Neptune prepared to attack Helios.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Chibimoon screamed at the two outer senshi.

"Why thank you, my 'dearheart'" Helios' voice said silkily as Chibimoon shuddered from the evilness that once kind tenor voice carried in it.

"Helios, why are you doing this to Chibimoon?" Moon asked in desperation unable to bear seeing her future daughter like this. Mercury, wondering the same thing, discreetly hid behind Pluto, pulled out her Mercury Computer and scanned Helios with it. She gasped as the computer showed who was in control of Helios' body.

"Because Helios is not in control of his body." Mercury said flatly, answering Moon's question. "Nehelenia has taken over his body, his mind and soul has been imprisoned by her."

"How did she do that?" Saturn asked raising her glaive to a 'guard' position.

"She used the energy released from her body's death to gain control of his body. That is Nehelenia, not Helios, who holds Chibimoon captive." Mercury explained quickly as the rest of the senshi and Tuxedo Kamen took battle stances, though both Moon and Kamen were breathing heavily.

"Your little brainiac senshi is correct sailor senshi." Nehelenia said cruelly and tightened his grip slightly on Chibimoon forcing her to concentrate fully on getting what little air she could into her starved lungs. "And Helios can't escape his body again so if want to be rid of me, you will have to destroy your precious little lovebirds!"

"No, I will destroy your soul only Nehelenia!" Moon yelled and summoned her eternal tier. "STARLIGHT―"

"Wait Sailor Moon! Nehelenia will use Helios' soul as a barrier, so you will only end up destroying Helios!" Mercury shouted and Moon banished her weapon.

"So how do you propose destroying her without harming Chibimoon or Helios?!" Tuxedo Kamen asked in frustration, gloved hands fisted at his sides.

"Crys―" Chibimoon started but was cut off as Nehelenia tightened his grip.

_:Of course, she means that we have to use the crystals!:_ Moon mindsent to Kamen, turning to face him excitedly. She continued to mindsend so that Nehelenia wouldn't know what they were planning. _:I can use my silver crystal to destroy Nehelenia's soul.:_

_:Not while her curse still grips the Earth and Moon. I can tell from your aura that you could only use half of the crystal's power, max. But if we combine our crystals' powers, it should be enough to erase Nehelenia's soul for good.:_ Tuxedo Kamen mindsent to Moon.

_:Since Chibimoon is a senshi, her Pink Moon Crystal will protect her automatically from our attack, but what about Helios?:_ Moon asked her soulmate worriedly as she layered her hands over her locket in preparation to call out her Silver Crystal. Tuxedo Kamen echoed her movements as he looked into her eyes through his mask.

_:Well your Silver Crystal only harms evil, and I'm assuming the Golden Crystal's power works similarly. But the sheer amount of energy that will be sent into his body in order to destroy Nehelenia will cause him some physical pain, but hopefully nothing lasting.:_ Tuxedo Kamen responded as Moon nodded. They really didn't have a choice. Chibimoon's face was now sporting a blue tinge. He and Moon called forth their respective crystals, powering up to their royal forms automatically.

_:I think Helios would rather endure that pain than kill Chibimoon.:_ Princess Serenity sent as she and her lover held their crystals out in front of them and aimed at the possessed priest. Each crystal emitted a beam of power at Helios' body. The two beams merged into one silver gold beam and raced towards Chibimoon and Helios.

Nehelenia laughed and pulled Chibimoon in front of him to take the blast. That laugh quickly turned into a scream of agony as the beam passed right through Chibimoon, pausing only long enough to vaporize the webs binding her, and plunged into Nehelenia's stolen body, lighting it up like a small sun.

Helios rejoiced as he saw in his mind Nehelenia's soul writhe and struggle against the energy flooding his body. He felt his arm's grip around Chibimoon's throat loosen and felt her hands pull it away enough for her to escape.

Then as Nehelenia's started to lose against the Crystals' combined powers, she lost control of Helios' body and Helios gratefully escaped his mental prison and took command of his body once more.

He then felt the sharp and fiery pain of the crystals' power flooding his body. Helios screamed in agony even as he sensed Nehelenia's soul shatter into millions of shards. Most of the shards were then dusted but a few managed to plunge themselves into Helios' soul as the beam from the lovers stopped.

_Oh no you don't you evil bitch!_ Helios thought viciously and used his own powers to trap the crystals' energy in his body, allowing it to course and burn throughout his body and soul. Helios gritted his teeth and groaned brokenly as he held the enormous amount of energy within his body.

At last he sensed the last shard of Nehelenia's evil soul be dusted. Helios nearly sobbed with relief as a few tears slipped past his tightly shut eyelids. Gratefully the teen let the awesome energy of the Silver Crystal and Golden Crystal drain from his body as his knees buckled.

Chibimoon sobbed with worry from her place on the floor as she looked up at the brightly glowing priest. His anguished screams shook her to her core as the beam coming from her future parents pulsed over her head to plunge into his body.

The beam then stopped flowing into Helios' body as Serenity and Endymion sent their powers out to cleanse and heal the Earth and Moon, thereby healing themselves. But Chibimoon hardly paid any attention to that as Helios was still glowing.

His eyes were squeezed shut and teeth were bared and gritted. Hoarse, strangled moans escaped from him as his body stiffened and arched almost floating. _Why? Why is he still glowing? Nehelenia should be destroyed already!_ Chibimoon thought worriedly to herself as she finally lowered her hands from her bruised throat.

A few seconds later, Chibimoon sighed in relief as she saw the light fade from the teen's body. Looking up at Helios' face she saw that his forehead drop was once again red.

She watched as his body first relaxed, then slowly collapsed to the cold floor. Quickly she crawled the few feet over to where he lay, his back to her.

* * *

**Bea here: I didn't change much in this one, didn't have to. Just tweaked the final fight a bit ^^**

**Please leave me a comment and tell me what u think!**

**Thank you ^^**

**Ja ne!**


	10. Promises

2

**Bea here: okay my beta/muse has NOT edited this chapter, but she has given me permission to post it anyway. I will eventually be re-posting a beta-ed version, but not sure when. On with the chapter!**

Chapter 10: Promises

Coming to a stop, Chibimoon sat on her heels beside the armored priest. Carefully the pinked haired senshi turned Helios onto his back and, turning so her front faced his head, inspected him. He was breathing shallowly, his face was pale and a little pinched, but he was rapidly regaining his usual color.

She then noticed the tears on his cheeks and brushed them away tenderly with one gloved hand. As she did this Helios groaned faintly and stirred, making Chibimoon's heart jump. His black lashes fluttered briefly before sliding up, revealing his warm golden orbs.

Those eyes immediately sought her own and lit with joy that spread to the rest of his face. Sighing in profound relief, Helios slowly levered himself into a sitting position with a little help from his maiden.

"Helios." Chibimoon whispered as his hand came up to cup her cheek. She covered it with one of her own and gazed at the man she loved.

"My Maiden." His warm tenor voice washed over her soothingly.

"Are you alright?" she asked as the rest of the senshi slowly approached along with Serenity and Endymion, who were powering back down.

"I'll be fine, my maiden. Are you alright?" He responded then, seeing her nod, continued in an ashamed near whisper, "I'm so sorry I wasn't strong enough."

"It wasn't your fault Helios." Chibimoon replied and then abruptly lost control of her fragile emotional stability. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. "But Helios, I was so scared, upset and confused! I knew that Nehelenia was the one trying to kill me but it was your arms and your voice and… and…" She cried hysterically into his shoulder, unable to continue. Helios gently wrapped his arms around her trembling frame and maneuvered her into his lap.

"Shh, it's okay Chibiusa-chan. It is over now, Nehelenia gone, you're safe and so is everyone else." He murmured, purposely using her civilian name to help calm her as he carefully levered himself to his feet, shifting her so he held her bridal style. He then faced the approaching group and closed the remaining distance. Moon and Kamen looked concerned for their weeping future daughter but mimed that it would be better for her if she stayed with Helios. He nodded and all twelve people left the now rapidly disintegrating tent. Once outside, Kamen mindsent to Helios.

_:Helios? Can you stay with her and calm her down? I think she needs to be with you right about now.:_ Worry showed itself clearly in his prince's midnight eyes

_:Yes I can and I will. It was what I was planning to do, actually.:_ Helios replied in kind.

_:We give you two permission to do anything but actually have sex.:_ Moon added seriously but with a wink as the senshi and Kamen de-henshined and dispersed to their homes (well okay, Usagi went with Mamoru to his apartment).

Helios blushed at Moon's comment but headed to the nearby park. As he walked he used his magic to don a pair of navy blue pants, a white polo shirt and black shoes, banishing his neck and ear jewelry and forehead drop while he was at it. Chibimoon noticed the change in the fabric she had buried her face in and looked up tearfully. He noticed her gaze and smiled gently at her.

"Hey beautiful. You should de-henshin before someone sees." He said softly. She nodded and reverted back to Chibiusa in a brief show of light. As she managed to stop crying, Helios found a secluded grove near the lake to sit down in. Settling down into a cross-legged position, Helios felt Chibiusa automatically curl up in his lap, with her face resting on his warm chest and her arms hugging his shoulders.

After a quick glance at the entrance proved that they were alone, Helios slowly tipped Chibiusa's head up and gently kissed her soft, rosy lips. She returned the kiss with fiery yet innocent passion and as one thing progressed to the next, they ended up making out there on the grass.

Throughout it, both of them communicated soul to soul their love and helped heal themselves from their experience. After a few blissful minutes they wound down and were contently wrapped in each other's arms when his two handmaidens, the maenads, appeared and bowed to Helios and Chibiusa.

"Please excuse us High Priest Helios, Princess." They said in unison. "But the High Priest is needed in Elysion to help restore peace and order fully." They finished and waited serenely. _It's ironic that both of my hand maiden's names mean 'dawn'. I wonder if that was done on purpose._ Helios thought whimsically before replying.

"Very well, Aurora, Eos. I will be there shortly. You two may go." Helios responded evenly and nodded for them to go. They obeyed swiftly, leaving Helios and Chibiusa alone once more. Both of them slowly rose to their feet and stared silently into one another's eyes.

"I love you Chibiusa-chan." Helios whispered softly, wishing with every fiber of his being that he could just forget his duties and stay with his lovely maiden.

"I love you too Helios." She replied in a whisper, her voice conveying her wish for this moment to last forever.

"I must go now. But I will keep in touch. Maybe visit you in your beautiful dreams." Helios told her fervently and warmly, meaning every word, his amber eyes gazing down into her ruby ones.

"Promise?" Chibiusa asked struggling not to cry.

"I promise." He replied firmly then grinned. "But you must promise me in return that you won't mope or cry when I leave or while I'm gone." His arms tightened slightly around her slender frame.

"I promise, Helios." Chibiusa said and giggled slightly. They embraced each other once more and walked slowly out into the sunshine, hand-in-hand. The two stopped by the lake and faced each other, holding hands.

"Good-bye for now, Chibiusa-chan. I love you, my beautiful maiden." Helios said softly as he made sure no one was around to see him teleport to Elysion.

"I love you, Helios. See you soon." Chibiusa responded smiling for his sake. He nodded, smiled brilliantly in return, though his eyes were sparkling with what suspiciously looked to be tears.

He teleported away, leaving with Chibiusa holding something fairly heavy and hard. She looked down to see a delicate crystal rose, just beginning to unfurl, clasped in her small, white hands. She looked off into the distance across the lake, still smiling as she tried mightily to keep her promise not to cry.

The End.

**Bea here: and so it is finished! Yayness. Again I didn't change much, more just pruned and polished it a bit ^^. Comments/reviews would be great if u could spare the time *hint hint* lol. No pressure of course**

**Well in other works, I'm coming along on blood embarrassment and unhappiness part 2. Almost to the point where I can post it and declare the rest part 3 and etc. ^^**

**KKJ Snippets (I will probably change the title) is also on its way. It's a bit of a challenge, my own plot, and writing in 1****st**** person POV from a male's view point. Hopefully I can pull it off lol**

**Hope u enjoyed Taking Charge 2.0!**

**Ja ne!**

**Honest Beauty **


End file.
